Redfin Reports Housing Supply Just Hit a Four-Year High, Partly Because So Many Homes Are Sitting on the Market Unsold

Over half of home listings last month sat on the market for 60 days or longer–the highest November share since 2019. That’s a major reason housing supply jumped 12%.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Active listings—the total number of homes for sale—climbed to the highest level since 2020 in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, rising 0.5% month over month and 12.1% year over year. For all the talk of America’s housing shortage, one would think that’s great news. But the story is nuanced, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

A major reason for the jump in supply is a pileup of unsold homes, many of which buyers have deemed undesirable because they seem overpriced.

Over half (54.5%) of home listings in November sat on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract. That’s the highest share for any November since 2019 and is up from 49.9% a year earlier. The typical home that did go under contract in November did so in 43 days, the slowest November pace since 2019.

“A lot of listings on the market are either stale or uninhabitable. There's a lot of inventory, but it doesn’t feel like enough,” said Meme Loggins, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Portland, OR. “I explain to sellers that their house will sit on the market if it’s not fairly priced. Homes that are priced well and in good condition are flying off the market in three to five days, but homes that are overpriced can sit for over three months.”

Loggins said that homes $650,000 or below typically attract the most competition from buyers, but those homes are often the ones sitting on the market now because sellers in that price range are most likely to overprice.

In Portland, 58.7% of listings in November lingered on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract—the seventh highest share among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas.

Texas and Florida Have the Highest Share of Stale Inventory

In Miami, 63.8% of listings in November were on the market for 60 days or longer without going under contract—the highest share among the top 50 metros. Next came Austin, TX (62.4%), Fort Lauderdale, FL (62.3%), San Antonio (60.3%) and Orlando, FL (59.9%).

Florida and Texas have been building more homes than anywhere else in the country, which is one reason inventory, and thus, stale listings, are on the rise. Surging HOA fees, high insurance costs and destructive natural disasters are also making many Florida house hunters hesitant to pull the trigger. Florida is home to three of the five metros that saw the largest year-over-year increases in active listings last month.

Florida has also seen the biggest increase in stale inventory. In Tampa, 56.9% of listings last month were on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract, up 12.3 percentage points from a year earlier. That’s the largest gain among the top 50 metros. Next came Fort Lauderdale (12 ppts), Orlando (11 ppts), San Diego (11 ppts) and West Palm Beach (11 ppts).

Providence and Milwaukee Have the Lowest Share of Stale Listings

In Providence, RI, 38.2% of listings in November were on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract—the lowest share among the top 50 metros. Next came Milwaukee (38.8%), Montgomery County, PA (41.4%), Warren, MI (41.7%) and San Jose, CA (41.8%).

There are just three metros where the share of stale listings decreased from a year earlier: Philadelphia (-1.7 ppts to 51%), Chicago (-0.7 ppts to 44.9%) and San Francisco (-0.5 ppts to 53.4%).

To view the full report, including a chart and additional metro-level data, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/unsold-housing-inventory-november-2024

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, and title insurance services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email [e-mail]. To view Redfin's press center, click here.