More listings are facing price cuts, particularly among the nation’s largest markets. Fifteen percent of U.S. listings saw a price cut in January and more homes spent longer on the market, according to realtor.com®’s latest housing report.
Thirty-nine of the 50 largest markets saw an uptick in the share of price reductions compared to last year. The greatest increases in price reductions in January were in Las Vegas (up 16%), followed by San Jose, Calif. (up 9 percent), Seattle (up 8 percent), Orlando (up 6 percent), and Phoenix (up 5 percent).
“The U.S. housing market is off to a slower start this year in many markets compared to the rapid acceleration we saw last January,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Although the market is slowing, it’s important to remember that we’re coming off of four straight years of inventory declines that pushed the market to a record low availability of homes for sale. The real metric to keep an eye on is entry-level homes, which are key to getting today’s market back in balance. These homes are still in short supply.”
The number of homes priced $750,000 and above grew 12 percent over the last year, while the number of homes $200,000 and under has fallen by 6 percent, according to realtor.com®’s report.
Homes are taking longer to sell in many markets. Nationwide, homes sold in an average of 87 days in January. San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; and San Francisco posted the largest increases in days on the markets, as properties spent 27, 19, and 15 more days listed, respectively.
Source: “January Housing Data Shows Uptick in Seller Price Cuts,” realtor.com(R) (Jan. 30, 2019)
