More Homes Available For Sale in August

Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Report for August 2021 reveals that inventory and new listings improved during the month. There were 432,000 newly listed homes hitting the market during the month of August, an increase of 4.3% in inventory year-over-year. U.S. housing inventory has declined 25.8% year-over-year in August to close out Q3 of 2021, an improvement over last month’s decline of 33.5%. In addition to new listing being up over last year, the share of sellers who made listing price adjustments grew 0.7% year-over-year to 17.3% of active inventory–the highest share in 21 months and closer to typical 2016-2019 levels.

In a statement prepared for the release of the August Monthly Housing Report, Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said, “Low mortgage rates have motivated homebuyers to endure this year’s challenging market and now some buyers are starting to see their persistence pay off. This month, new sellers added more affordable entry-level homes to the market compared to last year, while others began adjusting listing prices to better compete with an uptick in inventory.”

Ms. Hale added, it is “still a strong seller’s market, with homes selling quickly at record-high prices. But now a home priced well and in good condition may see two or three bids compared to 10 last year. For sellers not seeing as many offers, it may be worth revisiting pricing strategies, as buyers continue searching for homes that fit their budgets.”