New listings rose 13 percent from a year earlier nationwide during the four weeks ending March 3, the biggest increase in nearly three years, according to a recent report from Redfin.
The boost in new listings helped bring the total number of homes for sale up 1.7 percent. Following eight months of declines, Redfin said February is the first month the number of homes for sale has increased on an annual basis.
“There have been two major obstacles for homebuyers over the last year: Low inventory and high housing costs,” Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao said in a release. “Now, the first barrier is starting to come down as more supply comes on the market. Housing costs are still high, but they’re likely to come down a bit as mortgage rates gradually decline through the year and price growth loses some steam. Buyers who can afford today’s mortgage rates may have better luck finding a home now than they have in the past several months, and they also may be less likely to face competition because inventory is improving.”
New pricing data also brings a few glimmers of hope for house hunters. Asking prices of new listings posted their smallest increase in roughly two months; additionally, 5.5 percent of homesellers dropped their asking price, on average, the highest share of any February since at least 2015.
High mortgage rates pushed the median monthly housing payment to $2,694, just $23 shy of the all-time high. But final sale prices, which rose 5.3 percent year-over-year, one of the biggest increases in a year and a half, should start declining soon as price growth for new listings loses some momentum, Redfin added.
House hunters are looking at homes and applying for mortgages as spring approaches. Redfin data shows touring activity is up 23 percent from the start of the year, compared with a 14 percent increase during the same period last year, and mortgage-purchase applications are up 11 percent week-over-week. That early-stage buying activity hasn’t yet translated to a boost in sales, with pending sales down 6 percent year-over-year.