Housing inventory began to show its first signs of a rebound in March when stock took a much shallower dip and even increased from February in some markets. For-sale inventory dropped 1.1% in March from February, but increased in 19 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, according to Zillow’s market report. This inventory drop marked the smallest since July 2020. San Jose, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington DC posted the highest for-sale inventory gains across the country. Zillow notes these remain small signs of a potential rebound, but are still encouraging.
Finally, while the early weeks of 2021 were marked by a scarcity of new home listings as sellers stayed on the sidelines in the face of an uptick in COVID-19 cases and a string of harsh winter weather, our data indicate they are starting to come back. New listings nationwide rose by 30.0% in the four weeks between late February and late March.
These are small signs, admittedly, but encouraging ones: In prior years, inventory has generally increased in March, and the return to some seasonal normality is a positive sign that the market is reaching a more steady state and could see inventory rise more steadily going forward. With home values skyrocketing, vaccination rates rising and employees getting long-term guidance on where they can work, we expect an increasing number of homeowners to enter the market and list in coming months. That will come as welcome news to home shoppers enmeshed in bidding wars and watching homes get plucked off the market weeks faster than usual.
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