The report blames the increase partly on the overall expansion of active inventory, which jumped by 28 percent in June year over year. With additional homes on the market, buyers can be more choosy and work to negotiate for better prices. As a result, according to the report, delistings were outpacing new listings, with 13 homes delisted in May for every 100 homes hitting the market.
“Unlike past housing cycles where falling prices pressured underwater homeowners to sell, today’s homeowners benefit from record-high levels of home equity, so they have the flexibility to wait it out,” Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel said in the report.
“This allows many sellers to withdraw their homes from the market if their asking price isn’t met.”
Krimmel said this hike in delistings comes on the heels of an uptick in price reductions.
“Some sellers with unrealistic price expectations would rather wait out the market than accept a lower price for their home,” he said.
The once red-hot Phoenix market led the nation in delistings in May, with 30 homes pulled from the market for every new home listed. Phoenix is also first in price reductions, with 33.2 percent of all listings experiencing price cuts in June. Denver and Austin, Texas, followed closely in terms of home price reductions.
Shawn Bellamak, a member of the Phoenix Realtors’ board of directors, told The Epoch Times that the local market there is definitely experiencing some changes.
“There’s a rumbling that we all feel as real estate agents that we haven’t felt since 2022,” he said. “We know it’s a different story. Now there’s an affordability problem, and it seems like some buyers are just fresh out of excitement—they don’t want to take on large mortgage payments.”
Bellamak said that while mortgage interest rates have come down slightly, would-be buyers still can’t afford to pay those rates, coupled with the higher home prices.
“The buyer pool has shrunk, but sellers are still basing their prices on the 2022 market,” he said. “No agent can sell an overpriced home, and some sellers are not willing to negotiate just yet.”
Using an example of a homeowner who bought a property in 2018 for $1 million, Bellamak said the same property may have been worth $1.3 million at the end of 2022.
“That’s $300,000 worth of equity in just a few years,” he said.
Those waiting until now to sell could see some price reductions, but are still in line to make a profit.
“The problem is that expectations have not lowered yet,” Bellamak said.
Currently, he said, many buyers are remaining on the fence and playing the waiting game until prices and interest rates come down. Some are renting or living with family in the meantime.
“They’re in the penalty box just biding their time,” he said.
For those who have to sell their homes because of relocation or other reasons, seller incentives have included not only price reductions, but also offers to cover the buyers’ closing costs.
“I think for the rest of this year, we’re going to see more of the same in terms of fishing in a stagnant pond,” Bellamak said. “But sellers can certainly put the bait out there to get ahead of a downward-sliding market.”
Nationally, 20.6 percent of home listings had price reductions in June, but the Realtor.com report also indicates that prices are holding steady, with a national median of $440,950 in the month. Large metropolitan areas such as Baltimore; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, experienced year-over-year median price increases of more than 5 percent.
Metro regions with the biggest year-over-year median price declines were Cincinnati; Miami; and Sacramento, California—all with decreases of more than 4.7 percent.
“This year’s market is a study in contrasts,” Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist, said in the report.
“Buyers are seeing more choices than they’ve had in years, but many sellers, anchored by peak price expectations and upheld by strong equity positions, are deciding to step back if they don’t get their number.”
While delistings are on the rise, the report shows that inventory grew during June in all four regions of the country, with a 38 percent advance in the West and a 30 percent advance in the South. It also indicates that homes are staying on the market much longer—53 days—which is five days longer than a year ago.
