While nationwide the market is shifting towards buyers, in New England sellers still have the upper hand due to a lack of inventory.
The U.S. housing market has shifted in favor of buyers for the first time this decade, with 3.7 months of for-sale supply sitting on the market in January. That’s the most since February 2019 according to a new report from brokerage and listings portal Redfin.
“Historically, a buyer’s market has been defined as when months of supply reaches 4-6 months—but old definitions don’t fit the reality of today’s market,” Redfin researcher Chen Zhao said in a statement. “Many buyers don’t feel like they are in a buyer’s market, with home prices at near-record highs and mortgage rates elevated. But we are more than halfway through the decade and this is the first time we can say that buyers have as much, if not more, power than sellers.”
While the pendulum might be shifting nationwide, prospective home buyers in New England are still fighting an uphill battle. Markets in Massachusetts and Connecticut are among the top sellers markets in the nation according to Redfin.
Greater Hartford, Connecticut has just 1.4 months of supply while the Worcester and Boston metros have 1.6 and 1.8 months of supply respectively. While Worcester saw no growth year-over-year, Hartford and Boston saw supply drop year-over-year, by 0.3 months and 0.2 months, respectively.