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As the spring housing market got ready to kick off, nearly 4 in 10 homes on the market in Greater Boston had sat on the market for two months or longer.

In Boston, 38.7 percent of the homes on the market in February had been sitting for two months or longer, according to a new analysis by economists at the listings portal and brokerage Redfin. That amounts to $2.75 billion in total dollar value of inventory.

Additional data provided by Redfin shows this percentage of “stale” inventory in Greater Boston was 28.5 percent, worth $1.37 billion, in 2022 – the last spring of the pandemic homebuying boom. Historical data shows average days on market typically peaks in Massachusetts in February.

The analysis did not include data for other Massachusetts metro areas.

Across the country, 52.2 percent of homes were on the market for two months or longer. That amounts to $347.38 billion in “stale” inventory, the listings portal and brokerage’s analysis said. In February 2022, $173.33 billion of “stale” inventory sat on the market nationwide, Redfin said, with 47 percent of all homes spending two months or more on the market.

The typical home in the United States that went under contract in February spent 66 days on the market. Homes have not sat on the market for that long in the last 10 years. Redfin noted that the war in Iran and interest rate volatility have pushed some buyers to the sidelines.

“In Boston, where a mortgage payment can be $10,000 per month, small changes in rates make a big difference,” Boston-based Redfin Premier agent Aditi Jain said in a statement. “Many buyers are waiting, hoping interest rates dip below 6% for a meaningful amount of time, before jumping into the market. The buyers who need to move now—maybe they’re expecting a baby or relocating for a job—are moving forward, but they may opt for a smaller home or a condo instead of a single-family house to keep their monthly payment in budget.”

Pending sales dropped by 8.3 percent year-on-year in Greater Boston in February, Redfin data shows, and by 9.8 percent for the four weeks ending on March 22, the largest such decline since 2023.

Active listings dropped by 4 percent in the Boston area in February on a year-over-year basis, the biggest decline since 2022, likely in part due to harsh winter weather. However, active listings were up 3.79 percent year-on-year for the four weeks ending March 22, the most recent data available.