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Heavy Buyer Demand, Low Inventory Tilting Market in Sellers Favor in U.S.

Heavy Buyer Demand, Low Inventory Tilting Market in Sellers Favor in U.S.

Residential News » Seattle Edition | By WPJ Staff | July 13, 2020 8:00 AM ET



According to Zillow's latest Weekly Market Report, U.S. home sellers have the upper hand in today's housing market. Despite a dip in newly pending sales, homes are flying off the market at a record pace and inventory remains incredibly scarce.

Homes are being snatched up at a record pace

  • Homes once again went under contract at their fastest pace since at least 2018 (when Zillow began tracking the data), tying a record set last week.
  • Homes sold in the week ending July 4 were typically on the market for 20 days before a contract to sell was signed, a full week faster than the same period last year. And they are typically selling after only five days in Kansas City, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
  • Newly pending sales fell 4% from the previous week -- the second consecutive weekly drop --  and remained steady from a month earlier.
The housing market continues to be starved for inventory

  • New for-sale listings dropped 1.5% from the previous week. They are now 7.9% below last month's level, and down 27.2% from a year ago.
  • Total for-sale inventory is 22.4% lower than during the same week last year.
Few price cuts show the market has tilted in favor of sellers

  • Housing demand is clearly outstripping supply, as demonstrated in this week's sales and inventory figures. Sellers are reacting by more often holding steady with their list price -- only 4.1% of active listings had undergone at least one price cut last week, down from 5.6% a year earlier.
  • The median list price grew again to $338,760, up 0.5% from the previous week and 4.3% year over year. High-end homes are coming onto the market at a greater rate than more-affordable homes, helping to drive up the median list price.

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