Is Housing Demand Finally Cooling Down?

Inman News

Data from realtor.com showed a slight week-to-week change in housing demand and new listing declines.

While the usual slowdown that accompanies the changing of the season is yet to impact the housing market, there could be some welcomed news for buyers on the horizon according to the weekly housing market report from realtor.com.

Data for the week ending on September 5 showed both a decline in housing demand and a slowing of new listing declines.

“Sellers are calling the shots in today’s market; prices are rising and housing inventory is vanishing almost as fast as it appears,” Danielle Hale, realtor.com’s chief economist, said in a statement. “But this week’s report revealed two indicators worth keeping an eye on.”

“Housing demand cooled slightly, while new listings showed a smaller decline than previous weeks,” Hale added. “This could be a hiccup in weekly activity, or if these trends continue, they could signal a shift in market dynamics leading into the fall when political, economic, and health-related uncertainties abound.”

Realtor.com’s Housing Market Recovery Index climbed to 107.7, with 100 being the pre-COVID baseline. The index, “leverages a weighted average of realtor.com search traffic, median list prices, new listings, and median time on market and compares it to the January 2020 market trend, as a baseline for pre-COVID market growth.”

Only a handful of the top 50 regional metro markets tracked by realtor.com were below the 100 baseline level signifying pre-COVID activity. Raleigh, North Carolina had the lowest score on the index at 96.3.