Housing inventory grows, giving buyers more options across the US: Report

National housing inventory is growing, giving buyers more options

The number of homes available for sale has been increasing every month for nearly two years

giving buyers more choices in the market, according to a new report from Realtor.com

In the South and West, the number of homes for sale is now higher than it was before the pandemic

and inventory is still increasing in those areas. In the Northeast and Midwest

Housing inventory has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels and still have a shortage of homes for sale

Mortgage rates have also been decreasing recently, which usually encourages more buying activity

However, even with cheaper borrowing costs, homes are taking longer to sell and buyer demand is not picking up significantly

For a year and a half now, homes have been sitting unsold for longer periods of time

suggesting weaker buyer demand or overpriced listings, according to the report. The biggest lowdowns are happening in Florida and western states where homes are taking even longer than average to sell

Homeowners slashing prices has also become common. About 20 percent of homes for sale have had their prices reduced after being listed Most of these price cuts are happening in the lower end of the market And overall buyers now have more negotiating power than they did during the hot sellers markets

of the last few years. This buyer leverage isn't equal everywhere, though, as it depends on the

region, the price tier of the home and local market trends. Different parts of the country

are seeing different patterns when it comes to price reductions on homes. According to the report

In the Northeast, only 14% of homes for sale had their asking prices lowered in September

That's relatively low, which suggests a stronger market in that area. In the South and West, about one in five homes saw price reductions

which indicates weaker demand or greater supply, pushing sellers to cut prices more often

In Denver, Colorado, nearly one in three homes saw a price cut, which is the highest rate among large cities

This suggests that sellers there are struggling to get their original asking prices

Portland, Oregon and Indianapolis, Indiana are also seeing high levels of price reductions

which indicates softening conditions in those metro areas. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan

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