According to new data from Redfin, houses are staying on the market for more than twice as long as they were during the record low set in May 2022.
The data, collected for four weeks ending on Dec. 25, 2022, showed that the typical home was on the market for 40 days before going under contract, more than double the record low of 18 days set in May 2022 and the slowest pace since January 2021. Just over one-quarter (28 percent) of homes went under contract within two weeks, the lowest share since January 2020.
“This week’s mortgage-rate pop can be chocked up to a handful of factors, but the week between Christmas and New Year’s is typically the slowest of the year for pending sales,” Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said in a release. “We’ll know more about the direction of rates and whether the recent uptick in early-stage demand will translate into sales when we’re settled into the new year.”
The longer time homes are staying on the market is helping increase the historically low inventory even though new listings are down by double-digits. The total number of homes for sale rose 18 percent from a year earlier, the largest increase since at least 2015.