During the pandemic, a combination of too few homes available for sale and a growing number of interested home buyers caused both home prices and competition between buyers to increase. The market was out of balance and buyers were frustrated. Fortunately, since then, things have changed – price increases have slowed, listings are lasting longer on the market, and there are fewer bidding wars between buyers. It’s due to the rebounding number of homes for sale. In a growing number of housing markets, inventory has improved and, in some, has even returned to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, 22 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas have more active listings now than they did before the pandemic. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says affordability conditions and new home construction have helped. “In some areas, affordability concerns have slowed buyer demand, giving the market room to breathe and contributing to gains in homes for sale,” Hale said. “In general, we’re seeing strong inventory rebounds in metros that have built more in the last six years.” In particular, markets in the South and West have shown the most improvement, with Denver, Austin, Seattle, Dallas, and San Antonio leading the list of cities where homes for sale have bounced back. (source)
