- The US housing landscape is currently "nobody's market," according to Realtor.com.
- Chief economist Danielle Hale wrote last week that both buyers and sellers remain hesitant.
The US housing market is stuck as buyers and sellers remain hesitant, according to a report from Realtor.com.
"This week's data suggests that housing is still largely a 'nobody's market,'" chief economist Danielle Hale wrote on February 9. "The number of homeowners deciding to sell continues to lag one year ago but inventory and time on market continue to climb reflecting still-hesitant buyers."
The data she highlighted include an 11% year-over-year drop in new listings, signalling sellers are putting fewer homes up for sale.
To be sure, total inventories of for-sale homes continued to rise, but they climbed at a slower yearly pace, Hale added. And the growing number of for-sale options also signal weak demand.
"With new listings declining, the growing number of homes for sale reflects still-low buyer interest amid high costs," she wrote.
In fact, homes spent 19 extra days on the market compared to a year ago, Hale noted.
But she also pointed to hopeful signs for buyers, who face a lower risk of missing out if they take more time making offers and could find that sellers are more willing to be flexible on the terms of the deal.
"Sales aren't going back to pandemic-era levels anytime soon, but there are reasons to suspect that the worst of the declines may be behind us," Hale said.
Meanwhile, US house prices are set to fall further this year as the Federal Reserve pushes ahead with interest-rate increases, according to real-estate veteran and board member of the Mortgage Bankers Association Jeff Taylor.
That's despite 30-year mortgage rates falling almost 100 basis points since October, which could potentially attract some homebuyers back into the market.
According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates have fallen back toward 6% after peaking at over 7% in November of last year. As of February 9, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 6.12%.