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With inventory increasing across the nation, sellers are feeling some pressure.
In Greater Boston and New Hampshire’s Seacoast region, the combined number of active single-family and condominium listings increased by 30.2 percent on a year-over-year basis in June, according to a new analysis by Realtor.com economists.
Additionally, new single-family and condominium listings of both property types increased by 3.3 percent.
Elsewhere in New England, Greater Hartford saw a steadier increase as active listings increased by 17.3 percent while new listings increased by 9.3 percent. In the Providence, Rhode Island metro active listings were up 29.5 percent and new listings were up 3.8 percent.
“This year’s market is a study in contrasts,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “Buyers are seeing more choices than they’ve had in years, but many sellers, anchored by peak price expectations and upheld by strong equity positions, are deciding to step back if they don’t get their number. Looking forward, this dynamic will affect whether we tip from a balanced to buyer’s market, and if so, how quickly that happens.”
With inventory increasing, sellers are feeling some pressure as buyers have more options. Nationwide in May, delistings rose 47 percent from a year ago and on a year-to-date basis are outpacing inventory gains.
Price cuts are also becoming more common. In June, 20.7 percent of listings across the united states saw price reductions, the highest share for any June since at least 2016 and the sixth consecutive month of price cuts.
The share of all home listings that had a price cut in Boston increased by 2.5 percentage points on a year-over-year basis in May. Hartford saw a similar increase of 1.8 percent and Providence saw a 2.7 percent bump.
The effect is already apparent in the state’s spring home-sales data as inventory builds up thanks to what one market-watcher termed “peak uncertainty” about the direction of the national economy and of the state’s biggest housing markets.
According to the most recent data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, the median condo price in the state held flat at $550,000 on a year-over-year basis in May even as sales increased by 4.4 percent. Those sales represent homes that likely went under agreement in April or even March, before year-over-year gains in inventory became this pronounced.
