Lower mortgage rates are prompting higher demand from home buyers to buy, but they aren’t finding enough homes for sale. Mortgage rates last week reached the lowest average since November 2016.
“July’s data highlight tension in the housing markets between buyers eager to take advantage of lower mortgage rates and potential sellers concerned about slowing price growth,” says George Ratiu, realtor.com®’s senior economist. “The decline in newly listed properties suggests that some would-be sellers are stepping back from the market, during the peak buying season, when most people are searching for their next home.”
July saw flat inventory growth, which realtor.com® researchers say could lead to inventory declines much sooner than originally anticipated. Newly listed properties were down 7% in July compared to a year ago, realtor.com® reports.