#housing-inventory

#housing-inventory

Monthly payments for new and existing homes are now nearly equal, amid a trend of stagnating prices and increased use of mortgage buydowns among builders. That was one of the main findings from Realtor.com's Q3 New Construction Report. According to the report, buyers purchasing a new home last quarter had an average mortgage payment only about $30 more per month than those buying an existing home with less money down.

In October, home prices fell moderately from the month before, with a median listing price of $275,000. The number of listings on the market grew 3.0% from last month, which is a smaller increase than normal for this time of the year in Kansas City, and homes are also selling slower than at the same time last year. Typically, home price per square foot in Kansas City tend to fall in October.

Homes are spending an average of 118 days on the market, with a median of 77 days. Total inventory sits at 839,506 properties a slight decline of 0.3% from the previous week. The price per square foot has dipped to $211, continuing a gradual softening trend. About 42% of properties on the market have had a price reduction, while just 2% have seen price increases. Another 10% of listings have been relisted.

Generally speaking, housing markets where inventory (i.e., active listings) has returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels have experienced weaker home price growth (or outright declines) over the past 36 months. Conversely, housing markets where inventory remains far below pre-pandemic 2019 levels have, generally speaking, experienced more resilient home price growth over the past 36 months. Of the 50 largest metro area housing markets, 21 major metros now have more homes for sale than at the same point in 2019.

The two government sponsored enterprises buy loans from mortgage lenders to ensure liquidity in the market and repackage those into investment products. They also set the standards for creditworthiness and ability to repay for mortgage loans. While they offer several construction products, those support lenders and homebuyers, not builders. HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami has written extensively on what could trigger more homebuilding and weighed in on Trump's statement.

Inventory growth was running at 33% year over year a few months ago, but it dropped to 17.66% last week. Let's find out what happened. In recent years, our inventory data has grown steadily in August, but this year it hasn't. I initially believed that we had not yet reached the peak of active inventory in 2025, but I've been proven wrong. Now we are entering the phase where inventory typically experiences its seasonal decline.

What we are starting to see is a shift in the market, and often it will start within the condo market,

During the pandemic housing boom, from summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number of active homes for sale in most housing markets plummeted as homebuyer demand quickly absorbed almost everything that came up for sale and home sellers had ultimate power. Fast-forward to the current housing market, and the places where active inventory has rebounded to 2019 levels (due to strained affordability suppressing buyer demand) are now the very places where homebuyers have gained the most power.

Pending-home sales slid in July despite improvements in housing supply, affordability and mortgage rates as buyers remained on the sidelines, the National Association of REALTORS® said. The pace of sales ticked 0.4% lower month over month and 0.7% lower year over year nationwide, NAR said, adding that the West was the only geographic region to see a monthly gain, while the Midwest and South were the only areas with annual increases.

The median home price has risen significantly, while wages have not kept pace, which is a major hurdle for potential buyers in today's market.