HouseCanary, Inc., a national real estate brokerage, has released its December Market Pulse Report, revealing that net new listings placed on the market rose by 5% compared to December 2022.
The slight uptick in activity comes in the wake of steady rates from the Federal Reserve and a minor drop in mortgage rates in December, which marginally improved affordability. The report suggests these factors sparked the first signs of positive activity regarding both net new listings and properties under contract.
However, despite these encouraging signs, any substantial market turnaround is likely to be slow. “The mortgage rate lock-in effect is going to keep many would-be sellers who secured pre-pandemic mortgage rates of sub 5% little incentive to move, meaning low inventory will be a continuing trend,” explained Jeremy Sicklick, Co-Founder and CEO of HouseCanary.
Despite inventory remaining at historically low levels, Sicklick remains optimistic. He pointed out that the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cuts could provide some relief for homebuyers in 2024.
Key data from the report includes:
- Over the last 52 weeks, there were 2,504,407 net new listings, and 2,589,823 properties went under contract. This represents an 18.1% decrease and 13.5% decrease, respectively, compared to 2022.
- In December 2023 alone, there were 110,572 net new listings and 183,184 properties under contract, marking an increase of 5.0% and 7.0%, respectively, versus December 2022.
- The rise in net new listings was driven by a 0.8% decrease in new listing volume, offset by a larger 9.5% decrease in removals compared to December 2022.
- The median days on the market dropped to 51, down 5.6% from a year ago when it was 54 days.
- The median price of all single-family listings in the U.S. was $424,729, and the median closed price was $394,223. This represents a year-over-year increase of 3.1% and 5.6%, respectively. However, month-over-month, the median price of single-family listings is down 1.2%, and the median price of closed listings is down 0.5%.
While the housing market recovery is still in its early stages, HouseCanary’s report suggests that buyers and sellers can expect gradual and modest growth. The anticipated rate cuts by the Federal Reserve might provide some relief for would-be homebuyers, but tight inventory may continue as a challenge in the coming year.
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