Homes sold at a faster clip in September compared to a year ago, spending a median of 86 days instead of 116 days in Zillow’s real estate database, the company said.
"The declining inventory of for-sale homes over the past year naturally creates pressure for buyers to more quickly snap up the inventory that is on the market," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries.
"This demand has been fueled by huge resets in home prices since market peak, historically low mortgage rates and a slowly improving broader economic climate," he added.
Homes moved the fastest and spent the least amount of days on Zillow in the markets of San Francisco, Sacramento, Calif., and Dallas.
In addition, homes sold at a faster pace in September compared to a year ago in all 30 of the largest metros.
Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Antonio had homes move the fastest this year compared to last year.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2010, homes nationwide have spent an average of 119 days on Zillow before being sold or taken off the market.
"Home shoppers in today’s environment need to be prepared to move quickly, with pre-approvals in place and an established sense of what they’re willing to pay for a home. But even though things are moving fast, buyers should resist the urge to enter into bidding wars or pay prices they’re uncomfortable with," Humphries said.
"We do expect that this need for speed will abate in the near-term as mortgage rates rise and more inventory becomes available because of new construction and declining negative equity," he explained.
