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In February, new listings rose 13% nationwide year-over-year, the biggest annual increase in nearly three years. According to Redfin, February was the first month the number of homes for sale increased on an annual basis after eight straight months of declines. Here are other key takeaways from last month:
- The total number of homes for sale rose 1.7%
- Asking prices of new listings posted their smallest increase in roughly two months
- 5.5% of home sellers dropped their asking price, on average, the highest share of any February since at least 2015
- Touring activity is up 23% from the start of the year, compared to a 14% increase during the same period last year
My take:
Things are truly headed in the right direction, especially for homebuyers. Until now, they had to face two major obstacles: low inventory and high housing costs. We are now finally seeing the first barrier come down as more supply comes to the market. High housing costs are still an issue, but I anticipate they will ease when mortgage rates decline later this year and next year.
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