New home listings up 11% in June from May (iStock)
The super-tight housing market got an influx of new listings in June — an unexpected turn of events as U.S. homes have been in short supply since even before the pandemic.
The number of new listings in June rose 5.5 percent compared to a year ago, and 10.9 percent from May, CNBC reported, citing data from Realtor.com.
More listings alone won’t end the housing shortage; strong demand has also powered housing prices to record highs in recent months. The median home sale price is up to $350,300, according to the National Association of Realtors. But additional supply in a variety of price ranges across the nation is “good news on the horizon for buyers,” George Ratiu, Realtor.com senior economist, told the website.
New listings are giving buyers more choices and will help the market, said Jennifer Myers, founder and owner of Washington, D.C.–based Dwell Real Estate Brokerage.
“That means that more people are going under contract for their next home, which in turn means more listings are coming up because those people are now able to sell their current home,” she told the outlet. “Little hinges swing big doors, as they say.”
Still, the market remains tight, with housing inventory down 43 percent at the end of May compared to a year earlier. But thanks to the new listings, the annual drop was smaller than in March, April and May, when it was down more than 50 percent.
[CNBC] — Akiko Matsuda
