The typical existing-home sold during the four weeks ending July 17 spent 19 days on the market, one day longer than last year, according Redfin. This marks the first time in two years that the median time on market posted a year-over-year gain.
Also on the rise, the total number of homes for sale posted its biggest increase—3 percent—since August 2019, despite fewer homes hitting the market than this time last year.
“Buyers, who earlier this year had to race to beat the competition, can now take their time touring homes and perhaps even wait to see if sellers drop the price,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Still, few homes are being listed, so if your dream house hits the market, you should negotiate hard, now that you have the power… The value may fall in the near term, but if you plan to live there for five or 10 years you will almost certainly gain home equity over that horizon. Sellers, on the other hand, may want to list sooner rather than later, before prices fall more.”
Also of note for the four week period ending July 21, 41 percent of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, down from 46 percent a year earlier. Just 28 percent of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, down from 33 percent a year earlier.