This spring’s housing market is poised to put 2020’s hectic market to shame as home listings drop 200,000, says CNBC. The sharp drop in new listings can be attributed to recent severe weather. At the end of February, there were just half the number of listings compared to February 2020. Realtor.com’s chief economist says cold and snowstorms likely put sellers on pause. For the last four years, January and February typically had about 207,000 more listings than 2021 has seen. If listings were to catch up, listings would need to grow 25% annually this month and next.
While the biggest drops in new supply were in Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Missouri, declines were widespread across the country. The only major cities seeing gains in inventory were San Jose, California, and San Francisco and Denver.
The increasingly tight supply of homes for sale continues to fuel the fire under home prices. In January, prices were up just over 10% year over year, according to CoreLogic. Rising mortgage rates are now hurting affordability but so far have not thrown any cold water on home prices.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Affordability
What Is the Relationship Between Urban vs. Suburban Development and Affordability?
A new paper from Harvard's Joint Center looks at whether expanding the supply of suburban housing could, in turn, help make dense urban areas more affordable
Market Data + Trends
10 States Where Home Insurance Rates Have Risen the Most
Responding to the increasing number of natural disasters, insurers are hiking prices, with some states bearing the brunt more than others
New-Home Sales
Mortgage Rates Are Up but New-Home Sales Still Solid in March
Lack of existing home inventory drove a rise in new-home sales, despite higher interest rates in March