Real Estate Corner

The trends for sellers that have prevailed since April appear to be running out of momentum.

New listings have dropped sharply over the past few weeks, with fewer than 10,000 appearing in the last 28 days. The peak was 12,246 per 4 weeks (on June 28) and the last time we had fewer than 10,000 was April 2021. The 4-week count is down 2.7% compared with the same time in 2021. The weekly total is 9% below last year so this downward trend in new supply appears to be gaining strength. A shortage of new supply is great news for sellers, though with demand so low, we are still seeing a slight buildup in available inventory.

Demand is showing signs of life at last – not in the sales counts which will remain low for some time – but in the rate of listings going under contract. In the 7 days that started on Sunday, August 7, we saw 1,803 newly accepted contracts. This is the highest weekly total since June 12 and far more encouraging than the dismal 1,429 for the week beginning July 3. We would describe these developments as the first signs of a possible improvement in market conditions.

So, the good news is that the number of new listings have slowed over the last few weeks, even as sales counts are up some, as measured by Listings Under Contract. That’s a positive message. However, we are always wary of the misleading broad brush analysis. Please feel free to reach out to The Luckys, the local-expert-with-a-finger-on-the-pulse and ask us how this information breaks down by price range and neighborhood.