iStock illustration
Sellers are pulling their listings off the market in Greater Boston at a faster rate than last year, according to a new analysis by economists at brokerage Redfin.
But the region has very few so-called “stale” listings older than 60 days.
In Greater Boston, there were 743 delistings in September, which made up 5.9 percent of all listings according to Redfin. The number of delistings increased by 36.1 percent on a year-over-year basis.
“Some prospective sellers are opting not to list at all, and others are taking their home off the market if it’s not getting the price they want,” Aditi Jain, a Redfin Premier agent in Boston, said in a statement. “Sellers aren’t motivated because, frankly, it’s no longer a great time to sell; today’s listings are getting one or two offers at best, compared to 10 a few years ago. They’d rather rent out their home than sell for a low price, and people who don’t need to move now are opting to stay put and re-list in a year or two.”
The combined inventory of single-family and condominiums for sale spiked nearly 32 percent year-on-year in May as the spring selling market drew to a close, thanks in part to double-digit year-on-year growth in new listings in March and April.
Since then, inventory of homes for sale has slipped down so that inventory in October was only up 15.8 percent over October 2024.
Single-family owners statewide pulled back from the market last month, with the number of new listings in October contracted 1.2 percent after a 5.7 percent year-on-year jump in September, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
But condo owners statewide continue to bring more properties to market than in years past. September saw the number of condos hitting the market jump 11.6 percent, MAR data shows, while October saw the same stat ruse 4.2 percent year-on-year.
Only 48.9 percent of all condo and single-family listings on the market in Greater Boston in September had been on the market over 60 days, the third-lowest share in the nation after the Silicon Valley and San Francisco metro areas.
Nearly 85,000 U.S. sellers took their homes off the market in September, Redfin said, up 28 percent from a year earlier and the highest level for the month in eight years.
Seventy percent of U.S. home listings were “stale” in September, meaning they had been on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract according to Redfin. The typical home that was delisted in September had been on the market for 100 days before the seller pulled it off the market.
“Many homeowners who bought during the pandemic demand frenzy still expect sky-high prices. They remember a seller’s market, so they’re hesitant to yield to buyers who want to negotiate the price down and/or ask for concessions,” Redfin senior economist Asad Khan said in a statement. “Recent buyers are also more likely to be testing the market; maybe they would sell and move up to a bigger home in a more desirable neighborhood if they get the price they want, but otherwise they’d stay put. Longtime owners, though, are more motivated to sell–they’re often downsizing or relocating for retirement.”
Active U.S. listings rose 8 percent year over year in September to their highest level for that month since 2019 according to Redfin.
Banker & Tradesman staff writer James Sanna contributed to this report.
