(NewsNation) — A growing number of home sellers are opting to remove their properties from the market rather than reduce prices, as prospective buyers push back against rising housing costs.
Following a five-year robust real estate market, the demand has waned due to buyers being unable to manage higher costs in the face of ongoing elevated interest rates, and they are discontent with the current price tags.
Sellers delisting their homes
As a result, sellers are unwilling to settle for reduced earnings and are thus withdrawing their properties from the market. In May, the national rate of homes taken off the market increased by 47% compared to the previous year, according to data from Realtor.com.
The delisting surge “is partly due to the overall expansion in active inventory.”
“Many sellers are holding firm to their peak price expectations and bolstered by substantial equity, are opting to pull back if their desired price isn’t achieved,” explained Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
Despite this, home inventory hit a new post-pandemic high. And sellers aren’t in as much of a rush to accept lower than their desired amount.
“Different from previous housing downturns where declining prices forced underwater homeowners to sell, today’s homeowners are in a better position due to record-high home equity levels, giving them the leeway to wait out the market,” stated Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com. “Thus, many sellers are choosing to take their homes off the market if their price demands aren’t satisfied.”
In July, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell commenting at a press conference, “despite elevated uncertainty, the economy is in a solid position.”
Over 1 million homes for sale
Approximately 1.36 million homes were for sale in June, which was the most since November 2019, Zillow revealed in a July press release.
While sellers are removing their homes from the market, some are lowering their prices, according to Zillow.
In June, there was a record high 26.6% of sellers who lowered their homes prices, with cuts coming primarily from the Sun Belt and the Mountain West, Zillow data shows.
