Find out which areas are leading the growth…
The latest report from Realtor.com suggests an upbeat start to the Spring housing market, as February saw a noticeable uptick in housing inventory, providing hopeful signs for those looking to buy a home.
Compared to last year, there was a 14.8% rise in homes for sale each day during February, marking the highest inventory level seen since 2020. This trend represents the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in available housing.
“We’ve seen a promising start to 2024 with the highest inventory levels in four years. Although we’re still catching up to pre-pandemic figures, the South has been particularly active, contributing significantly to the increase in homes priced between $200,000 and $350,000,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
The most substantial growth was observed in the affordable housing segment, with a 20.6% rise in the inventory of homes priced between $200,000 and $350,000. This improvement suggests better buying conditions for those seeking more budget-friendly options, even if the overall inventory was still lagging behind the levels seen before the pandemic.
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Southern metropolitan areas were at the forefront of this inventory increase. Cities like Orlando, Miami, and Tampa saw the most significant growth, while Texas, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas exceeded inventory levels compared to the averages of 2017 to 2019, indicating a robust recovery in these areas.
The housing market’s dynamics have been closely tied to the fluctuations in mortgage rates. After a period of decline, rates stabilized at around 6.6% at the start of the year but climbed to 6.94% following inflation reports. This rate variability has affected home sales, with an uptick in homes seeing price reductions—from 13.2% last February to 14.6% this year. Moreover, the volume of newly listed homes has risen by 11.3% from the previous year, reversing a 17-month trend of declines.
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