RE/MAX real estate agents say they now have more homes for sale than at any point in the last 10 years, according to the latest housing report.
RE/MAX is a major global real estate agent franchise, with 120,000 agents in more than 100 countries and territories. By pulling data from that large pool of agents and the MLSs, they release the National Housing Report every month.
The latest report saw the largest year-over-year inventory increase in at least 10 years. According to the RE/MAX CEO this indicates the market is swinging buyer’s way; however with mortgage applications running low and recession talks front and center, it's unclear how many potential homebuyers will be lured into getting a mortgage.
While year-over-year home sales dropped 11% – extending a streak that began in August – inventory grew year over year by an average of 6.4% across the report’s 54 U.S. metro areas, said the company in a statement.
January marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year inventory growth – further reversing a decade-long trend of shrinking inventory. December 2018’s year-over-year inventory growth of 4.7% was the previous record in the report’s 10-year history.
“The winter chill extended to the housing market in January, as home sales remained cool,” said RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos. “The good news is that inventory levels in January continued to rise on a year-over-year basis, providing incremental improvement in what’s been a multi-year shortage of for-sale homes. This is a positive for homebuyers, as the market continues to swing their way.”
Here’s the rest of the important stuff in a quick-read bullet list, so buckle up:
- Fifty-nine days on market was a record low for January sold listings.
- The median sales price of $234,000 was a report record for January.
- January’s 3.9-month supply is higher than last year’s 3.4-month supply.
- 9 of the 54 metro areas surveyed reported a supply at or over six months, typically indicating a buyer’s market.
