Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

Key Takeaways

• The amount of homes actively for sale is down 4.0% compared to last year.
• The quantity of unsold homes, including homes that are under contract, is lower by 7.2% compared to last year.
• There are 9.1% less newly listed homes compared to last year.
• There has been a 4% annual increase in the median price of homes for sale.
• The days homes are on the market increased by one day, to 48 days on market.  as compared to this time last year and compared to before the pandemic is two weeks shorter.

According to Realtor.com®’s September housing data, new listings declined in September with more typical seasonal patterns after August’s surprising increase. However, as a result of the newer listings, September’s inventory grew over August more than expected this time of year. Nonetheless, inventory remains constrained as homes sell at a fairly quick pace. While the inventory crunch continues to support listing prices, there are some signs of adjustment, as the share of home listings that have had their price reduced in the last month increased more than expected for this time of year.

Inventory Increases Over August but Still Remains Low

According to the September 2023 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report by Realtor.com, the inventory of homes for sale in September grew by 4.9% over August, which is higher than the typical seasonal trends in the pre-pandemic 2017 to 2019 period when inventory remained fairly flat between the two months. However, despite this small monthly increase, active inventory still remained 45.1% below typical 2017 to 2019 levels 1.

The total number of homes for sale, including homes that were under contract but not yet sold, decreased by 7.2% compared to last year. This is the fifth month in a row that total listings have declined on a year-over-year basis but as with active listings, the gap between this year and last year is shrinking.