At long last, the housing market is showing signs of revival after rapidly rising prices and the lock-in effect from high mortgage rates have made it tough to buy or sell.
Signs of life in the market include the fact that monthly mortgage payments decreased last month for the first time since 2020 with mortgage rates at a 15-month low, according to Redfin. Mortgage rates are slated to come down further as the Fed begins cutting interest rates soon, giving homebuyers confidence that buying conditions are improving. Chen Zhao, Redfin’s research head, is confident that the housing market will slowly unlock over the next year as rates continue decreasing and existing homeowners start selling.
There’s already evidence of this happening. New listings are up 3.4% year-over-year. The total number of homes for sale has shot up 18% year-over-year. And Redfin economists believe that in the wake of the NAR settlement, which gives sellers and buyers more negotiating power over realtor commissions, sellers might be more willing to list their home.
However, not all housing markets are seeing this effect immediately. Redfin analyzed the 50 biggest US metro areas by population and found that year-over-year, new listings are surging in some metros quicker than others. Certain cities in California, Pennsylvania, and Maryland posted double-digit increases in new listings. During that same period, cities in Georgia, New Jersey, and Texas saw the biggest decreases in new listings. This phenomenon is the most pronounced in Georgia, with the Atlanta metro area seeing the biggest year-over-year decline in new listings.
In total, 14 out of 50 metro areas saw a decline in new listings, which means that almost three-quarters of US cities are seeing new listings increase.
Listed below are the 5 metro areas where new listings are increasing the fastest, the 5 metro areas where new listings are declining the most, and their year-over-year percentage changes, according to Redfin’s study.
