According to data from realtor.com, the average home in America was listed for a median $299,000 and sold in 54 days—both new realtor.com records. Home buyers in June had more options compared to other months amid the nationwide housing shortage, the choices remained fast-moving and expensive.
Home inventory in June was on a decline of only 4%, compared to the 8% from last year. Listing prices steadily rose 9% over the years. Generally, homes in the West are moving much quicker than in other regions.
The data shows that, of the 100 largest markets, there were six with days on market at a month or less, five of which were in the West: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (23 days); Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. (24 days); San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. (25 days); Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb. (26 days); Salt Lake City, Utah (26 days); and Colorado Springs, Colo. (30 days).
This can be troubling news for new buyers, considering the degree of competition they face in their first home buying experience.
“On the bright side,” says Javier Vivas, director of Economic Research for realtor.com, “buyers saw more new listings hit the market than they saw last June, causing inventory to drop at a slower rate. However, much of the new inventory is composed of higher-priced, newer and larger homes, forcing a very hungry pool of buyers to adjust their budgets.”