The number of homes for sale increased over 4% in May over April and by over 6% in April over March, according to online real estate broker Redfin, as prices rise to the point where sellers can pay off prior loans.
"Lots of homeowners want to sell," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "And lots of people want to buy. The problem has just been agreeing on a price. Over the last 12 months, Redfin agents have talked to plenty of homeowners seeking to test the market at a very aggressive price, just so a sale would yield enough money to pay off the mortgage. Those consultations often ended with a decision to wait.”
What has changed in the last two months is rising home prices due to the shortage has now resulted in people seeing if they could get the money they needed to meet that goal of paying off their mortgage.
Still, Redfin said active listings are down 22% from a year ago, but this is likely to turnaround to a positive number before the end of the year.
And, as supply and demand come back into balance,
Zillow’s data found inventory
Redfin’s Real-time Home Price Tracker showed a 17% year-over-year and 4% month-to-month gain in prices during May. All 19 cities tracked had a year-over-year increase.
Only Austin, Texas, had a decline in price from April and that was just 0.4%. Sacramento had the largest year-over-year increase, 39%.
