With more than 1.1 million homes for sale nationwide, the country’s housing market is rebalancing, offering buyers more choices after years of sellers dictating prices and contract terms.
According to Realtor.com’s latest housing market trends report, the inventory of homes for sale rose 24.8% year-over-year in July. It was the third consecutive month with over one million active listings.
At the same time, list prices fell in 33 of the nation’s 50 largest metros year-over-year. In 19 of those 33 metros, prices have now fallen below July 2022 peak levels.
Austin, Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles led the way last month when it came to year-over-year median list price declines. Those cities were followed by Denver, Phoenix, Sacramento, Nashville, Minneapolis, and Cincinnati.
Where prices are falling fastest right now is not necessarily where they have dropped most since the national market peak in 2022. Median list prices in Los Angeles are down 4.2% from last year, but remain 18% above July 2022 levels.
That stands in sharp contrast to Austin, where a 4.9% drop over the past year has pushed list prices 14.8% below their 2022 peak, according to Senior Economist Jake Krimmel.
Buyers hoping to take advantage of the shift in their favor should remember that although the national market is cooling overall, the pace and severity of the slowdown vary widely across regions. In the South and West, an increasing number of sellers are cutting prices as homes stay on the market longer, while in the Northeast and Midwest, inventory is still tight.
They should also keep in mind that prices are still well above prepandemic levels. Since June 2019, the typical list price has climbed over 37.6%, while price per square foot is up nearly 52.3%.
“These long-term increases have significantly affected affordability,” Krimmel wrote.
In July, the national median list price was $439,990, according to Realtor.com data.
