Lack of Inventory Continues to be Buyers' Biggest Hurdle in June

Data shows nation's 50 largest metros may be recovering faster than rest of country

- Nationally, the number of homes listed for sale was down 27.4 percent year-over-year, while inventory decreased by 26.5 percent in the 50 largest markets

- The number of new listings declined by 19.3 percent nationally and 16.2 percent in the 50 largest markets year-over-year

- Home prices show sustained growth, with the national median listing price up 5.1 percent to $342,000

- Homes are selling faster in larger markets, but still slower than last year

News provided by

realtor.com

Jul 01, 2020, 06:00 ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With interest rates at all-time lows and buyers returning to the market armed with post-quarantine housing wishlists, sellers appear to be the missing link to a strong summer housing market. Realtor.com^®'s June Monthly Housing Trends report issued today showed the nation's housing inventory decline accelerated since May as the number of new listings hitting the market continue to range between 17 to 21 percent lower than last year.

Nationally, housing inventory was down 27.4 percent year-over-year in June, which translates into 363,000 fewer homes listed for sale. The volume of newly listed properties was down 19.3 percent over last year -- much improved over the 44.1 percent and 29.4 percent year-over-year declines posted in April and May, respectively. However, unlike the April and May periods where new listings improved on a weekly basis, the rate of decline of new listings remained fairly steady over the six-week period ending June 27, with each week posting year-over-year declines between 17 to 23 percent.

"Our June data reinforces that buyers are out in force and serious about finding a home. Although the new listings trend has improved, inventory continues to decline, indicating that what is coming onto the market is selling," said realtor.com^® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "The housing market has certainly demonstrated its resilience during the COVID pandemic, but conditions vary market by market. In particular, the nation's largest metros are seeing a better new listings trend and smaller increase in the time it takes for a home to sell, which could signal they may lead the recovery."

The 50 largest metros metrics outpace the rest of the country
Despite seeing inventory decline from May, the nation's 50 largest metros performed better than the rest of the country in June.

Total inventory declined 26.5 percent year-over-year in June, compared to 27.4 percent nationally.
New listings were down 16.2 percent year-over-year versus 19.3 percent nationally.
The typical home in one of these markets spent 53 days on the market, only six days more slowly than last year, and 19 days faster than the rest of the country.
Listing prices grew by an average of 5.7 percent year-over-year, up from the 3.3 percent year-over-year gain in May and higher than the national growth rate of 5.1 percent

At the same time, 47 of the nation's 50 largest housing markets saw greater inventory declines than last month even though most of these markets saw an improvement in the yearly decline of newly listed properties, an indication that homes are coming onto the market and selling. Of the largest 50 metros, 46 saw year-over-year gains in median listing prices in June, up from 35 in May.

Days on market, listing price growth vary from market-to-market
Nationally, the typical home spent 72 days on the market in June, 15 days more than a year ago. However, several markets did see days on market decrease in June, including Rochester, N.Y. (-4 days); Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn (-3 days); and.Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. (-3 days). In contrast, markets with the largest increases in time spent on market included Pittsburgh (+30 days); New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+21 days); and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. (+21 days).

Although Pittsburgh made the list for the largest increase in days on market, it also saw the largest year-over-year increase in median listing price growth,up 23.8 percent year-over-year. The steepest price declines, which were all smaller than 3 percent, were seen in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. (-2.3 percent); Jacksonville, Fla., (-0.8 percent); and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (-0.7 percent).

Metros With Largest Decline in New Listings

Metro	New Listings YoY	Active Listing Count YoY	Median Listing Price	Median Listing Price YoY	Median Days on Market	Median Days on Market Y- Y
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.	-33.3%	-40.4%	$337,000	16.6%	51	7
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	-32.2%	-38.5%	$362,800	2.5%	55	4
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.	-31.1%	-39.0%	$289,950	1.7%	46	0
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	-28.3%	-38.7%	$439,500	4.7%	61	10
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.	-28.2%	-38.4%	$359,435	10.6%	57	8
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.	-28.0%	-36.4%	$499,950	4.4%	49	12
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	-27.5%	-36.5%	$258,750	10.1%	57	2
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.	-27.3%	-9.5%	$336,349	4.1%	52	8
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.	-26.8%	-42.1%	$432,500	11.2%	53	7
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.	-26.7%	-34.9%	$299,950	1.7%	52	8
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio	-25.2%	-41.5%	$227,050	8.1%	62	7
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich	-24.2%	-26.1%	$274,950	3.7%	39	3
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	-23.9%	-41.4%	$349,996	2.2%	49	2
Richmond, Va.	-23.0%	-28.6%	$353,523	5.8%	57	8
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	-22.3%	-32.1%	$1,232,050	6.1%	36	4
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.	-22.2%	-40.2%	$401,500	4.3%	58	6
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.	-21.7%	-29.4%	$250,050	5.3%	70	13
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.	-21.2%	-29.6%	$369,950	5.8%	49	10
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.	-21.0%	-36.6%	$772,000	6.5%	39	1
Columbus, Ohio	-20.8%	-32.7%	$332,550	3.9%	43	6
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	-19.9%	-27.0%	$339,950	0.3%	46	3
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif.	-18.9%	-29.5%	$517,550	3.5%	40	4
Oklahoma City, Okla.	-18.6%	-26.1%	$293,345	14.1%	49	4
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	-18.6%	-31.4%	$292,500	2.7%	71	12
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.	-18.0%	-38.9%	$329,995	10.0%	50	-1
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	-17.9%	-23.8%	$312,300	1.1%	65	12
New Orleans-Metairie, La.	-17.6%	-20.9%	$300,200	0.6%	79	14
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	-17.5%	-14.4%	$319,950	0.0%	73	15
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	-16.9%	-27.5%	$346,250	4.0%	52	2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va.	-16.8%	-37.8%	$529,845	8.8%	37	-1
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.	-16.6%	-19.8%	$369,950	4.2%	39	3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas	-16.6%	-21.7%	$325,050	0.3%	58	6
Raleigh, N.C.	-16.5%	-28.4%	$385,000	1.3%	63	12
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	-15.8%	-19.1%	$970,050	21.4%	61	16
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	-15.2%	-28.8%	$356,300	-0.7%	48	-2
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	-14.6%	-39.9%	$327,500	13.0%	59	7
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	-14.4%	-27.7%	$625,548	1.1%	35	1
Austin-Round Rock, Texas	-13.8%	-27.3%	$390,045	5.6%	49	3
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.	-13.8%	-23.3%	$545,550	5.4%	36	2
Rochester, N.Y.	-11.5%	-31.2%	$247,600	7.7%	29	-4
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.	-11.3%	-23.3%	$390,050	3.8%	34	-2
Pittsburgh, Pa.	-10.6%	-25.3%	$247,450	23.8%	88	30
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	-10.5%	-30.2%	$657,500	9.6%	35	-3
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.	-10.4%	-17.1%	$1,049,775	10.5%	32	1
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.	-9.9%	-32.6%	$239,950	7.1%	49	14
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.	-7.0%	-27.0%	$274,950	6.6%	61	4
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.	-4.6%	-28.9%	$295,050	3.5%	46	-3
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	-1.3%	-20.5%	$577,050	1.3%	78	21
Jacksonville, Fla.	-0.8%	-21.8%	$317,500	-0.8%	70	5
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	2.5%	-9.4%	$399,550	-2.3%	114	21

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