Realtor.com® August Housing Report: Annual Inventory Growth Continues as For-Sale Inventory Hits Highest Levels Since May 2020
Rhea-AI Summary
Realtor.com's August Housing Report reveals significant changes in the U.S. housing market. Active inventory grew by 35.8% year-over-year, marking the 10th consecutive month of growth. However, new listings decreased by 0.9% compared to last year. The median list price fell 1.3% to $429,990, while the median price per square foot increased by 2.3%. Homes spent an average of 53 days on the market, the slowest August in five years.
Notable trends include:
- Inventory growth was highest in the $200,000 to $350,000 range
- Price reductions increased to 19.2% of listings
- The South and West regions are closest to pre-pandemic inventory levels
- Tampa, San Diego, and Orlando saw the highest inventory growth
These trends suggest a shift towards a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, with falling mortgage rates potentially leading to increased activity in the coming months.
Positive
- Active inventory grew by 35.8% year-over-year, providing more options for homebuyers
- Inventory growth was highest in the $200,000 to $350,000 range, indicating more affordable options
- The South and West regions are closest to bridging the pre-pandemic inventory gap
- Falling mortgage rates could lead to increased market activity in the coming months
Negative
- New listings decreased by 0.9% compared to last year, indicating seller hesitation
- Median list price fell 1.3% to $429,990, potentially impacting seller returns
- Homes spent an average of 53 days on the market, the slowest August in five years
- Price reductions increased to 19.2% of listings, suggesting downward price pressure
Insights
The August housing report reveals significant shifts in the real estate market. The 35.8% year-over-year increase in active listings marks the highest inventory levels since May 2020, indicating a potential market rebalancing. However, the
The 2.3% increase in price per square foot despite the overall price decrease points to a growing share of smaller, more affordable homes in the market. This trend, coupled with the 46.1% growth in homes priced between
The increase to 53 days on market, the slowest August in five years, along with rising price reductions, indicates a shift towards a buyer's market. Investors should monitor these trends closely, as they may signal a need for adjusted pricing strategies in the coming months.
The housing market is showing signs of increased balance between buyers and sellers. The
Regional disparities are noteworthy, with the South showing the strongest inventory recovery, down only
The anticipated Fed rate cut and resulting lower mortgage rates could stimulate market activity this fall. However, the seasonal slowdown may temper this effect, creating a unique market dynamic that both buyers and sellers should carefully navigate.
The housing market is at a pivotal point, with inventory growth potentially leading to price stabilization. The
The disparity between the
Looking ahead, the anticipated Fed rate cut and resulting lower mortgage rates could reinvigorate the market. However, the impact may be delayed as both buyers and sellers wait for further rate decreases. This wait-and-see approach could lead to a more active than usual fall season, but likely won't match the intensity of a typical spring market. Investors and homebuyers should prepare for a dynamic and potentially opportunity-rich environment in the coming months.
- Metros that saw the most inventory growth:
Tampa (+90.1% ),San Diego (+80.4% ), andOrlando (+76.9% ) - The median price of homes for sale in August was
$429,990 1.3% year over year - Homes spent 53 days on the market making August 2024 the slowest August in five years
"In April we noted that rising for-sale inventory was likely to lead to more balance between buyers and sellers. This August, as the number of homes on the market continues to climb, price cuts are more common, asking prices are moderating, and homes are taking longer to sell. The widely anticipated Fed rate cut has already ushered in lower mortgage rates, but it seems that some buyers and sellers are waiting for additional declines," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com®. "As the market slows seasonally, fall is one of the best times to buy a house. Falling mortgage rates are likely to bring out additional home shoppers and a busier fall season than usual, but the boost in activity is unlikely to overwhelm the usual seasonal slowdown. Shoppers, who are out this fall, are likely to face lower competition than is expected in spring 2025 as more shoppers anticipate better mortgage rates."
The median price of homes for sale this August decreased by
August 2024 Housing Metrics – National
Metric | Change over Aug 2023 | Change over Aug 2019 |
Median List Price Per Sq.Ft. | +2.3 % | +51.0 % |
Median listing price | - | +36.2 % |
Active listings | +35.8 % | -26.4 % |
New listings | -0.9 % | -20.0 % |
Median days on market | +7 days (to 53 days) | -6 days |
Share of active listings with price | +3.0 percentage points (to | +1.8 percentage points |
Inventory continues to grow
There were
Continued growth in affordable homes for sale
In August, as in the previous six months, the growth in homes priced in the
Just like buyers, sellers pulled back this August as newly listed homes were
Days on market reaches five year high
The typical home spent 53 days on the market in August, an increase of seven days from a year ago. It was the slowest August in five years, though time on the market was still six days less than the pre-pandemic average for August. Homes are spending more time on the market in all regions, led by the South (nine days longer), and followed by the Midwest (three days) and the West and Northeast (two days).
"We have found that the market slows by about one day for every 5.5 percentage point increase in the year-over-year number of active listings," said Ralph McLaughin, Senior Economist at Realtor.com®. "Given the rapid growth in inventory we're seeing now, that can mean changes in some markets of up to 15-20 more days on the market than last year."
Price reductions become more common
As the number of active listings and days spent on the market grew, the percentage of homes with price reductions also increased in August to
Median list price falls, but price per square foot continues to grow
The national median list price fell
South and West are closest to bridging pandemic era inventory gap
All four
For August, active listings grew by
Of the 50 largest metro areas, just 11 had higher levels of inventory in August compared with pre-pandemic levels, including Austin,Texas (+
Ranking | Metro | Inventory Growth - |
1 | 90.1 % | |
2 | 80.4 % | |
3 | 76.9 % | |
4 | 72.2 % | |
5 | 69.3 % | |
6 | 68.3 % | |
7 | 66.8 % | |
8 | 62.4 % | |
9 | 58.0 % | |
10 | 50.6 % |
Additional details and full analysis of the market inventory levels and additional trends in listing prices and more can be found in the Realtor.com® August Monthly Housing Report.
August 2024 Housing Overview of the 50 Largest Metros
Metro Area | Median Listing | Median Listing | Median Listing | Median Listing | Median Listing |
-3.5 % | 1.1 % | 29.5 % | 51.8 % | ||
-7.6 % | -4.7 % | 45.0 % | 55.5 % | ||
-1.7 % | 1.9 % | 11.6 % | 27.7 % | ||
2.7 % | 1.1 % | 13.5 % | 26.4 % | ||
-1.1 % | 0.8 % | 40.1 % | 58.3 % | ||
7.8 % | 6.7 % | 30.5 % | 43.8 % | ||
1.2 % | 2.0 % | 26.0 % | 56.6 % | ||
0.1 % | 2.4 % | 18.7 % | 32.4 % | ||
-6.7 % | 4.8 % | 26.9 % | 51.1 % | ||
8.0 % | 11.5 % | 35.5 % | 39.8 % | ||
-0.3 % | 5.4 % | 26.1 % | 53.7 % | ||
-4.3 % | 0.1 % | 27.9 % | 43.9 % | ||
-6.1 % | 1.4 % | 24.4 % | 44.7 % | ||
2.8 % | 5.2 % | 10.5 % | 31.4 % | ||
3.8 % | 14.1 % | 38.9 % | 62.3 % | ||
0.0 % | -0.1 % | 19.6 % | 37.8 % | ||
-2.2 % | 3.5 % | 21.8 % | 53.0 % | ||
-4.1 % | -0.9 % | 34.8 % | 51.6 % | ||
-8.5 % | -2.5 % | 29.4 % | 44.2 % | ||
5.1 % | 6.1 % | 48.3 % | 55.7 % | ||
2.4 % | 3.3 % | 42.3 % | 48.8 % | ||
0.5 % | 3.6 % | 19.5 % | 40.7 % | ||
5.6 % | -0.2 % | 45.6 % | 61.1 % | ||
-11.7 % | -9.1 % | 32.6 % | 44.0 % | ||
13.2 % | 5.3 % | 44.6 % | 42.2 % | ||
-2.8 % | 0.6 % | 26.7 % | 32.8 % | ||
-5.7 % | 1.8 % | 47.2 % | 63.1 % | ||
-4.2 % | -3.4 % | 14.0 % | 24.0 % | ||
4.6 % | 5.1 % | 30.2 % | 69.3 % | ||
-7.3 % | -0.5 % | 24.9 % | 41.8 % | ||
-5.2 % | -0.6 % | 34.8 % | 53.3 % | ||
9.1 % | 6.6 % | 32.3 % | 52.2 % | ||
-4.3 % | -0.6 % | 33.9 % | 51.5 % | ||
-2.0 % | 3.7 % | 22.7 % | 27.1 % | ||
-3.6 % | 1.2 % | 29.9 % | 39.6 % | ||
4.3 % | 7.7 % | 51.1 % | 48.2 % | ||
-2.2 % | 2.3 % | 22.3 % | 51.3 % | ||
2.5 % | 4.8 % | 38.1 % | 56.8 % | ||
4.1 % | 3.7 % | 43.8 % | 59.3 % | ||
- | - | 30.6 % | 40.5 % | ||
-4.8 % | 0.8 % | 29.2 % | 38.7 % | ||
-4.1 % | -2.5 % | 18.8 % | 37.8 % | ||
-9.1 % | 1.1 % | 40.5 % | 61.5 % | ||
-7.7 % | -4.9 % | 5.4 % | 23.4 % | ||
-5.1 % | -0.2 % | 24.9 % | 25.3 % | ||
-3.1 % | -1.2 % | 30.1 % | 45.6 % | ||
6.4 % | 6.5 % | 33.3 % | 31.7 % | ||
-6.2 % | -3.8 % | 47.0 % | 63.4 % | ||
2.4 % | 5.1 % | 33.8 % | 45.0 % | ||
-2.5 % | 5.1 % | 26.3 % | 54.6 % |
Metro Area | Active Listing | New Listing | Median Days | Median Days | Price– | Price- |
58.0 % | 6.7 % | 47 | 7 | 23.6 % | 5.4 pp | |
25.6 % | -12.8 % | 65 | 11 | 28.0 % | -7.6 pp | |
29.1 % | 4.2 % | 37 | 0 | 16.5 % | 3.4 pp | |
31.4 % | 8.1 % | 50 | 6 | 18.2 % | 1.3 pp | |
26.3 % | 5.0 % | 39 | 2 | 16.3 % | 3.5 pp | |
17.2 % | -1.2 % | 39 | 1 | 9.3 % | 1.6 pp | |
62.4 % | 8.5 % | 44 | 6 | 23.6 % | 8.3 pp | |
11.0 % | 1.4 % | 36 | 1 | 14.6 % | 2.6 pp | |
38.7 % | 31.4 % | 33 | 2 | 19.3 % | 9.6 pp | |
13.7 % | 4.5 % | 38 | -1 | 15.7 % | 1.5 pp | |
35.3 % | 11.4 % | 36 | 10 | 22.7 % | 2.7 pp | |
50.6 % | 12.3 % | 49 | 8 | 28.4 % | 3.3 pp | |
66.8 % | 5.3 % | 46 | 12 | 27.7 % | 3.8 pp | |
14.5 % | 3.4 % | 36 | 0 | 15.8 % | 2.5 pp | |
9.6 % | -1.8 % | 33 | -4 | 9.7 % | 2.7 pp | |
31.9 % | 10.5 % | 51 | 9 | 20.0 % | 0.2 pp | |
29.5 % | -4.8 % | 43 | 7 | 25.4 % | 3.3 pp | |
68.3 % | -7.9 % | 61 | 12 | 28.0 % | 5.8 pp | |
22.7 % | 3.1 % | 52 | 2 | 17.7 % | 2.2 pp | |
- | 17.1 % | 42 | -1 | 20.6 % | 5.3 pp | |
41.6 % | 16.2 % | 44 | 3 | 13.4 % | 2.8 pp | |
32.9 % | 6.6 % | 38 | 7 | 19.9 % | 3.4 pp | |
44.7 % | -2.7 % | 59 | 13 | 23.3 % | 2.8 pp | |
72.2 % | 9.9 % | 74 | 12 | 17.3 % | 5.0 pp | |
7.5 % | -5.7 % | 29 | 0 | 14.7 % | 1.6 pp | |
25.5 % | -4.6 % | 37 | 1 | 17.1 % | 3.0 pp | |
25.1 % | 22.8 % | 38 | 1 | 24.6 % | 0.7 pp | |
36.0 % | -4.5 % | 68.5 | 5 | 20.4 % | -1.2 pp | |
2.1 % | -3.0 % | 58 | -1 | 8.2 % | 0.6 pp | |
36.5 % | 3.4 % | 44 | 1 | 22.8 % | 2.1 pp | |
76.9 % | 5.6 % | 63 | 17 | 25.2 % | 6.4 pp | |
12.9 % | 0.3 % | 44 | -1 | 14.1 % | 1.8 pp | |
50.3 % | -35.6 % | 57 | 12 | 27.3 % | 9.6 pp | |
24.1 % | -0.9 % | 47 | -1 | 20.9 % | 5.0 pp | |
28.8 % | -2.2 % | 51 | 10 | 29.3 % | 10.6 pp | |
26.7 % | 1.4 % | 32 | 2 | 17.5 % | 9.8 pp | |
48.8 % | 0.4 % | 47 | 7 | 21.2 % | 7.3 pp | |
33.8 % | -5.9 % | 43 | 4 | 15.2 % | 5.9 pp | |
38.2 % | 9.4 % | 53 | 7 | 16.8 % | 2.2 pp | |
- | - | 39 | 24 | 4.9 % | - | |
48.5 % | 11.0 % | 44 | 7 | 20.7 % | 4.4 pp | |
38.3 % | 2.3 % | 61 | 11 | 27.8 % | 0.4 pp | |
80.4 % | 19.1 % | 38 | 5 | 17.8 % | 5.8 pp | |
31.3 % | 9.7 % | 37 | 4 | 12.9 % | 2.5 pp | |
45.0 % | 5.2 % | 31 | 5 | 11.3 % | 1.2 pp | |
69.3 % | 30.0 % | 38 | 5 | 17.4 % | 2.6 pp | |
17.6 % | -6.5 % | 41 | 4 | 15.9 % | 2.7 pp | |
90.1 % | -0.9 % | 64 | 21 | 29.3 % | 7.5 pp | |
20.2 % | 5.5 % | 36 | 6 | 20.8 % | 4.6 pp | |
23.8 % | 1.9 % | 37 | 2 | 13.7 % | 2.1 pp |
Methodology
Realtor.com® housing data as of August 2024. Listings include the active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com®; new construction is excluded unless listed via an MLS that provides listing data to Realtor.com®. Realtor.com® data history goes back to July 2016. The 50 largest
With the release of its August 2024 housing trends report, Realtor.com® has restated data points for some previous months. As a result of these changes, some of the data released since August 2024 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before September 2024) and Realtor.com® economics research reports.
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit Realtor.com®.
Media Contact: press@realtor.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com
FAQ
What was the year-over-year growth in active inventory for August 2024?
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