The summer housing season is experiencing low sales activity despite an increase in active inventory, which has climbed 23.7% year over year. The current inventory level exceeds one million listings, marking the highest since November 2019. Mortgage rates slightly decreased, yet buyers remain hesitant, with a traditional slowdown expected as families settle in for the school year. Economists suggest that lowering home price expectations may bolster demand, yet significant changes in buyer behavior have not been seen in the recent period.
Falling mortgage rates will be the thing that helps the housing market the most, but without any rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this week, we may not see better rates for some time.
We are just getting past the peak of the selling season traditionally, and home sales tend to slow through the rest of the year as kids get back to school and families settle in.
That is not to say that there's no hope for a late-summer or early-fall pickup in activity, but this year's peak season has been unusually quiet as the high costs of homeownership keep many out of the market.
Sellers obviously don't want to have to cut prices, but lowering their home price expectations (without giving up altogether) in a broader way may have the effect of stirring up demand as well.
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