Prospective home buyers start 2025 with ‘stale’ housing market

IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO MOVE OR BUY A HOME IN THE NEW YEAR, THERE IS GOOD NEWS ABOUT SUPPLY, BUT BAD NEWS ABOUT QUALITY.
REDFIN, A RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BROKER, IS REPORTING THAT THE NUMBER OF HOMES **FOR SALE** IN NOVEMBER, HIT THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2020.
HOWEVER, REDFIN SAYS A MAJOR REASON FOR THE INCREASE IN SUPPLY IS “ A PILEUP OF UNSOLD HOMES, MANY OF WHICH BUYERS HAVE DEEMED UNDESIRABLE. “
NATIONALLY, MORE THAN HALF OF THE HOME LISTINGS IN NOVEMBER, 54.5 %, SAT ON THE MARKET FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS WITHOUT A BUYER, WILLING TO SIGN A CONTRACT. THAT’S THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE SINCE NOVEMBER OF 2019. THE AVERAGE HOME WAS ON THE MARKET FOR 43 DAYS. THAT’S THE SLOWEST PACE, AGAIN SINCE NOVEMBER OF 2019.
REAL ESTATE AGENT MEME LOGGINS OF PORTLAND, OREGON SAID, “ A LOT OF LISTINGS ON THE MARKET ARE EITHER STALE OR UNIHABITABLE. THERE’S A LOT OF INVENTORY BUT IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE ENOUGH. “ LOGGINS WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE PRICE IS KEY. SHE SAYS HOMES THAT ARE PRICED WELL AND IN GOOD CONDITION ARE SELLING IN THREE TO FIVE DAYS BUT OVERPRICED HOUSES ARE SITTING THERE FOR MONTHS.
BIG CITIES IN FLORIDA, SUCH AS MIAMI, ORLANDO AND TAMPA – WHICH HAVE BEEN HIT BY HURRICANES AND MARRED BY HIGH INSURANCE COSTS – ARE LISTED AS HAVING THE HIGHEST SHARE OF STALE INVENTORY. MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS ,INCLUDING AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO, ALSO MADE THE TOP OF THE LIST.
MORTGAGE RATES ARE ANOTHER FACTOR, ACCORDING TO CORELOGIC A COMPANY THAT SPECIALIZES IN PROPERTY INFORMATION ANALYTICS. THE COMPANY’S CHIEF ECONOMIST SAYS BUYERS ARE STRUGGING TO KEEP PACE WITH HOUSING PRICES AND THE COST of OWNING A HOME, IS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT IN DECADES.
AS OF THIS MORNING, JANUARY 2ND, A 30-YEAR FIXED RATE MORTGAGE HAS AN INTEREST RATE OF 6.7 % AND 15-YEAR FIXED IS 6.1 %. A FIVE-YEAR ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE, OR ARM, IS IN THAT SAME RANGE. FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES, DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP