The Most Unusual Spring Market We’ve Seen in Years?
This time of year is typically when housing demand peaks. The chairs are out, the tables are set, but will home buyers pull up a seat?
We’re seeing a tale of two markets right now: sellers, after holding back inventory for years, are out in force, but buyers? Some are watching from the sidelines. 🍿
Last month, the number of pending sales hit its highest level since May 2022—up 16% from a year ago. Not to be outdone, new listings jumped 29% year-over-year, outpacing demand.
Meanwhile, active listings rose 49%, a result of homes staying on the market for longer. That means more options for buyers to choose from, and a sharp shift from the inventory-starved markets of the past few years.
The buyers who are out there are serious—not many “looky loos”—but they’re cautious.
Rates dipped into the mid-6s last month, briefly sparking activity, but have since crept back up to around 6.85%. Following the Trump tariff announcements, when financial markets dropped, rates turned up, at one point exceeding 7%. This type of market volatility will make any reasonable person cautious, especially those whose jobs may be impacted in this changing economy.
Where does this leave us?
Time on market is ticking down (now at 16 days), and prices are holding steady, with the median detached home at $665,000. But with more sellers than buyers in the market, we may be facing a spring in which supply continues to climb without the typical rush of buyer activity. It's not 2023, and it’s definitely not 2021.
This could be a season of opportunity for those who are in a position to buy—just remember that most buyers are sellers, too.
Either way, it’s shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable spring markets we’ve seen in a while.
