Half of All Home Listings Have Gone Extra Stale, Unsold After 60 Days on Market

Redfin reports 48% of all homes for sale in August had been on the market for at least 60 days, up from 43% a year ago

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Nearly half (48%) of all U.S. listings have lingered on the market for at least 60 days, the highest share for any August since 2019, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That share was up from 43.2% a year ago and marked the fifth straight month in which the share of homes sitting for at least 60 days posted an annual increase.

The sluggish summer market continued to drag its heels in August, with home sales dropping to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

“We usually see home sales pick up when mortgage rates fall, but this year we are seeing the opposite—sales are dropping and homes are sitting longer on the market,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Last week’s big interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve will give buyers a boost in confidence, but it remains to be seen whether sales will speed up in any meaningful way as we move into the slower Fall season.”

Nearly 70% of homes are sitting for at least a month

Nearly seven out of every 10 homes (68.5%) on the market last month had been sitting for at least 30 days, up from 63.9% a year ago.

It was the sixth consecutive month that the share of month-old listings increased and the highest share for any August since before the pandemic in 2019.

“For a home to sell fast, or with multiple bids, it needs to be immaculately presented and have a unique design, or additional features like a pool,” said Andrew Vallejo, a Redfin Premier agent in Austin, TX. “I had a home receive multiple offers about a month ago—a rarity for us at the moment. It sold quickly and for $25,000 over list price because of how pretty it was—everything was perfectly painted, clean and manicured.”

Homes sell in less than two weeks in Seattle, compared to more than nine weeks in several Florida metros

Another way to examine the speed of the market is by looking at the median number of days it takes for homes to find a buyer.

"Anyone who has been paying attention to the housing market over the past few years knows that desirable homes sell right away. That's been true ever since the overall market slowed down after mortgage rates shot up a couple years ago,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Now if a home is still on the market after a few weeks, buyers assume there's something wrong with it. That's why it's so important to price your home to move quickly. Buyers see the days on market, and when it starts to tick up, it's like a scarlet letter."

The typical U.S. home was listed for 37 days before going under contract in August—six days longer than a year earlier. But the results were wildly different depending on where you were in the country.

The typical Seattle home was snatched up in 12 days in August, the quickest result of the 50 most-populous metros that Redfin analyzed, but still four days slower than a year earlier.

Indianapolis (16 days), Warren, MI (17 days), San Jose, CA (18 days) and Oakland, CA (20 days) rounded out the top five major metros where homes sold the fastest.

Major Metros With Fastest Sales

At the other end of the spectrum, homes in West Palm Beach, FL spent a median 79 days on the market before finding a buyer, 18 days longer than a year earlier. West Palm Beach was one of four major Florida metros where it took at least nine weeks to find a buyer—along with Fort Lauderdale (75 days), Jacksonville (65 days) and Miami (65 days).

Major Metros With Slowest Sales

One reason homes are selling slower in Florida is the spike in new homes built over the past few years to meet the demand of people moving to the state during the pandemic. Now that inbound migration has leveled off, homes are sitting longer—with rising insurance and HOA costs also putting a dent in buyer demand.

To view the full report, including charts, additional metro-level data and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/sales-speed-stale-listings-august-2024

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix it up to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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