Housing Inventory Up In High-Priced Markets

One third of the largest 45 U.S. metros saw a yearly increase in inventory in July

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2018 -- Realtor.com® today released its July 2018 monthly housing trend report, which revealed a quiet inventory turnaround in high-priced local markets as U.S. home prices and time on market continued to set records. Silicon Valley is leading the rebound as the San Jose metro surged with 44 percent more inventory than a year ago -- a quick about-face from its May inventory declines.

The inventory turnaround is concentrated in high-priced markets. Nationally, inventory of homes listed above $350,000 is up 5.7 percent, while inventory of homes below $200,000 is down 15.6 percent, and inventory of homes between $200,000 to $350,000 is virtually flat, slipping just 0.6 percent. In the 45 largest metros, prices are significantly higher in markets where inventory is rising -- an average of $494,000 -- compared to markets where inventory is still dropping -- an average of $302,000. Additionally, inventories are up the most in markets that have seen sustained price growth which is now starting to slow.

The U.S. median listing price remained at an all-time high of $299,000 in July, unchanged from June and 9 percent higher than last year. Homes sold in an average of 59 days, 5 days faster than last year. Overall, U.S. active housing inventory is not yet growing, but showed evidence of shifting gears, posting only a 4 percent decline year-over-year -- significantly slower than the 8 percent average decline seen over the last 12 months. Furthermore, 16 major metros saw an increase in their yearly inventory levels.

"July inventory growth is in high-priced, competitive markets, and often at the pricier end of these markets," said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com®. "It's not just California markets that have seen an increase in inventory, markets on both coasts and in the South reported inventory increases in July."

Locally, this deceleration of inventory declines was even more pronounced. In July, the 45 largest markets in the country showed no change in inventory on average year-over-year, in stark contrast with last July's 11 percent decline in these same markets. In addition to San Jose, inventory increased in Seattle, and Providence increasing 44 percent, 29 percent and 23 percent, respectively. Other major markets that showed gains included: Dallas (15 percent), San Francisco (10 percent), Boston (5 percent), and New York (2 percent).

"Although signs of an inventory turnaround are encouraging, whether they mean good news for buyers remains to be seen. These areas are seeing more new listings and some construction growth, but high prices and fast-selling homes are causing some buyer hesitation which is reflected in fewer home sales," added Hale.

*Excluded: Denver, Columbus, Las Vegas, Nashville and Birmingham data is under revision and excluded due to MLS feed changes. Adjusted: Washington and Baltimore inventory trends are adjusted to show total listing movement instead of active listing movement due to MLS feed changes. Active listings are non-pending, for-sale home listings.

Realtor.com® tracks national housing trends as well as data for the 500 largest U.S. metros. For July trend data, please visit: https://realtor.com/research/data

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