Healthy Buyer Demand Still Fueling Hot Housing Market

Zillow just released findings from its Weekly Market Report portraying housing market data for the week ending on October 31. According to Zillow’s data, the housing market is still sizzling hot, with strong buyer demand seeming to only be growing.

Specifically, Zillow reports that housing demand is so intense that the time for houses to stay on market before being sold is near an all-time low. This is also resulting in a surge of housing prices, with Zillow revealing that home price tags are now even higher than they were in 2019. Also according to Zillow, these rapid-fire home sales are not expected to slow anytime soon, with the real estate experts predicting that they will remain robust well through the coming winter months.

Specific statistics were also divulged by Zillow, such as the reported average for a typical house to stay on the market before selling is a mere 12 days. This turnaround time marks an entire 17 days faster than this same time last year.

As for pending home sales, Zillow reported that these are up 19.7% (year over year). While this is impressive, it was also revealed that they have slowed just over 3% from last month’s stats, and 1.3% since last week.

With such high demand staying steady, available inventory is understandably tight. Specifically, Zillow reported a drop in available inventory, having fallen down 37.4% compared to this same time last year. This dip in inventory marks the 23rd straight week that available homes for sale have decreased in number.

While demand remains high, sellers still appear to be stalling. One of the most commonly cited reasons would-be sellers give for their hesitation to pull the trigger and accept bids is their lack of confidence in their ability to find and purchase a new home of their own once their present one sells. Proof of this hesitation was revealed by the drop in new listings (down 7.4% year over year) since just last week. As for those homeowners who do decide to sell, they are definitely reaping the benefits with higher median home prices continuing to soar.