The number of homes for sale is growing at a record pace, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website. Their Monthly Housing Trends Report shows active listings increased 30.7 percent year-over-year in July. It was the third month of gains, and a good sign for home buyers.
Why? Because low inventory has been the main thing driving home prices higher and more available homes for sale will help slow future increases. Danielle Hale, the website's chief economist, says the market is balancing. “The U.S. housing market continues to move toward more evenly balanced supply and demand compared to the 2021 frenzy,” Hale said. “Our July data shows elevated mortgage rates left many buyers tightening their budget and sellers responding with price reductions, while home shoppers who kept searching saw more available options.”
More available options is good news but there's still a ways to go before the market is properly balanced. In fact, the report shows that the number of active listings is still 44.4 percent lower than it was in July 2019.
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