Realtor.com® January Housing Report: Buyers Gain Bargaining Power but Remain Deterred by High Rates and Prices
More home buyers are on the move this year, with 56% of listing views going to out-of-metro homes; affordable metros in the Midwest and Northeast gain in popularity
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. housing market offered homebuyers greater bargaining power in January, as mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in months, inventory rose, and the growth in the typical asking price continued to slow, according to the Realtor.com® Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. Meanwhile, the annual decline in new listings also moderated to single digits in January; new listings remain an important indicator of home selling interest, and a sustained improvement would suggest more sellers are returning to the market in the coming months.
"Home buying in January remained relatively sluggish as sales slowed, inventories rose, and price growth leveled off. These trends reinforce that while buyers are gaining an advantage in the market, they are still being deterred by high home prices and financing costs," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com®. "Even as inventories climb and prices moderate, homeowners have equity and advantages in the market but need to set their expectations accordingly. For renters looking to become homeowners this year our Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers identified pockets of affordability across the country, particularly in the northeast, where they might be able to better overcome affordability challenges and find a better deal."
January 2023 Housing Metrics – National
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Metric |
Change over Jan. 2022 |
Change over Jan 2019 |
Median listing price |
8.1% (to $400,000) |
38.1 % |
Active listings |
65.5 % |
-43.6 % |
New listings |
-5.4 % |
-27.1 % |
Median days on market |
+13 days (to 75 days) |
-12 days |
Share of active listings with price reductions |
+9.3 percentage points (to 15.3%) |
-0.3 percentage points |
Spotlight On: Affordable metros in the Midwest and Northeast gain in popularity
The Realtor.com® Q4 Cross-Market Demand Report also released today highlights regional variations in home buying activity and shows that in the face of higher affordability challenges more home buyers are on the move this year. Across the top 100 metros in Q4 2022, 55.5% of listing views on Realtor.com® went to properties located outside of the shoppers' metro area, compared to 55.0% during the previous quarter and 53.4% in the same time last year. Regionally, shoppers in the West (63.0%) and Northeast (57.0%) were mostly likely to search out-of-market last quarter.
Markets in the Midwest and Northeast that can offer shoppers more affordable deals gained the most popularity from out-of-market shoppers last quarter, including Pittsburgh; Buffalo, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Albany, N.Y.; and Cleveland, Ohio. Markets that saw the greatest decline in out-of-market home shoppers were Austin, Texas; Seattle; Knoxville, Tenn.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Ogden, Utah. High financial costs likely made Phoenix and Los Angeles less desirable destinations for both local and out-of-metro home shoppers last quarter compared to the prior year, which aligns with Realtor.com®'s 2023 Housing Forecast, which predicted large year-over-years sales declines in those two metros.
Gradually cooling markets gives buyers more homes to choose from
Nationally, the number of active listings in January continued to climb higher, suggesting that less competition and more time to make home buying decisions weren't enough to spur buyer demand in the face of high mortgage rates and home prices. Pending listings, or homes under contract with a buyer, continued to drop, as did the number of newly listed homes. This month's decline in new listings is the smallest since last July, and the South saw an increase in new listings, which means more, fresh for-sale options for homebuyers.
- In January, the active inventory of homes for sale grew 65.5% year-over-year in, but is still 43.2% lower than it was before the pandemic (January 2017-2019 average).
- Both pending listings, or homes under contract with a buyer (-31.9%), and newly-listed homes (-5.4%), declined year-over-year. The decline in new listings is much lower than last month's 21.0% decrease and November's 17.2% decrease and the smallest decline since last July's 6.8% decrease.
- Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, 49 markets posted yearly active inventory gains in January, led by Nashville, Tenn. (+303.5%), Austin, Texas (+260.4) and Raleigh, N.C. (+254.8%). The only metro to see inventory decline on a year-over-year basis was Hartford, Conn. (-8.0%).
- On average across the 50 largest metros, only the South saw year-over-year new listings increase in January (+5.4%). Twelve metros saw the number of newly listed homes increase compared to last year, up from only two markets in December, all of these markets were located in the South, with Raleigh, N.C. (+49.0%), Nashville, Tenn. (+45.3%), and Austin, Texas (+24.9%) seeing the greatest increases.
Buyers see slower price growth and have more time for decision making on a purchase
In January, the U.S. median listing price remained unchanged from December. Growth in the typical asking price (+8.1% year over year) also remained little changed from last month, after six months of decelerating price growth, suggesting a potential slowdown in the normalization of prices that could continue as we head further into 2023. As the number of homes for sale continues to rise, sellers were more than twice as likely as last year to reduce the asking price for their home. Homes also spent more time on market than last year, with homes in western metros spending 12 days more on the market compared to pre-pandemic times, but in all other regions homes are still selling more quickly than 2017–2019, on average.
- The U.S. median listing price was $400,000 in January, up 8.1% year-over-year, which is only a slight change from the December growth rate.
- The share of homes with price reductions increased from 6.0% in January 2022 to 15.3% this year. This is generally higher than it was before the pandemic, but is still slightly lower than 2019 levels (15.6%).
- The typical home spent 75 days on the market in January, 13 days longer than last year, but still 16 days faster than 2017–2019, on average.
- Across the 50 largest U.S. metros, 45 metros saw an increase in time on market compared to the same time last year, with the greatest increases seen in Raleigh, N.C. (+41 days), Las Vegas and Denver (+40 days, respectively). Only three markets saw shrinking time on market, including Richmond, Va. (-20 days), Milwaukee (-8 days), and Buffalo, N.Y. (-3 days).
Q4 Cross-Market Demand Housing Metrics
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Region |
Share of Outbound Views to Other Metros (2022Q4) |
Share of Outbound Views to Other Metros (2021Q4) |
Midwest |
51.7 % |
49.1 % |
Northeast |
57.0 % |
52.9 % |
South |
52.2 % |
50.5 % |
West |
63.0 % |
62.4 % |
Top 100 metros |
55.5 % |
53.4 % |
*Note: Regional Q4 2022 Cross-Market Demand metrics include top 100 metros across the U.S. 50 States and District of Columbia. |
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January 2023 Housing Metrics – 50 Largest U.S. Metro Areas
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|||||||||
Metro Area |
Median Listing Price |
Median Listing Price YoY |
Median Listing Price per Sq. Ft. YoY |
Active Listing Count YoY |
New Listing Count YoY |
Median Days on Market |
Median Days on Market Y-Y (Days) |
Price Reduced Share |
Price Reduced Share Y-Y (Percentage Points) |
$400,000 |
2.7 % |
2.2 % |
74.4 % |
-2.8 % |
67 |
14 |
17.4 % |
11.4 pp |
|
$522,000 |
-4.8 % |
-3.3 % |
260.4 % |
24.9 % |
80 |
33 |
29.5 % |
22.6 pp |
|
$320,000 |
8.4 % |
3.3 % |
27.1 % |
-16.3 % |
59 |
3 |
13.4 % |
5.4 pp |
|
$270,000 |
1.9 % |
5.3 % |
74.5 % |
4.5 % |
71 |
0 |
15.2 % |
9.0 pp |
|
$753,000 |
7.6 % |
-4.4 % |
37.7 % |
-1.6 % |
65 |
7 |
10.1 % |
4.9 pp |
|
$224,000 |
6.4 % |
4.9 % |
29.6 % |
-9.0 % |
73 |
-3 |
7.5 % |
5.0 pp |
|
$390,000 |
-1.3 % |
4.1 % |
130.2 % |
-9.5 % |
70 |
29 |
18.5 % |
13.2 pp |
|
$327,000 |
4.1 % |
-2.1 % |
13.0 % |
-15.6 % |
64 |
3 |
10.6 % |
3.8 pp |
|
$327,000 |
9.2 % |
3.7 % |
13.8 % |
-13.1 % |
59 |
0 |
12.0 % |
4.8 pp |
|
$190,000 |
6.1 % |
4.7 % |
28.8 % |
-10.1 % |
65 |
4 |
13.4 % |
6.0 pp |
|
$344,000 |
14.7 % |
6.2 % |
40.6 % |
-11.0 % |
59 |
18 |
18.2 % |
10.5 pp |
|
$430,000 |
7.5 % |
3.7 % |
199.4 % |
12.9 % |
66 |
25 |
21.6 % |
17.4 pp |
|
$600,000 |
-5.8 % |
-8.0 % |
163.1 % |
-9.8 % |
67 |
40 |
16.3 % |
13.6 pp |
|
$225,000 |
9.7 % |
3.7 % |
45.0 % |
-7.0 % |
66 |
11 |
15.8 % |
6.3 pp |
|
$361,000 |
3.2 % |
0.6 % |
-8.0 % |
-10.9 % |
72 |
4 |
6.0 % |
1.7 pp |
|
$355,000 |
-0.6 % |
1.4 % |
55.3 % |
-0.1 % |
65 |
2 |
16.4 % |
8.1 pp |
|
$289,000 |
4.9 % |
6.2 % |
83.3 % |
-14.3 % |
64 |
13 |
17.4 % |
9.7 pp |
|
$380,000 |
2.0 % |
5.0 % |
149.3 % |
-0.6 % |
76 |
26 |
22.4 % |
17.3 pp |
|
$429,000 |
17.5 % |
10.4 % |
83.3 % |
-0.8 % |
90 |
19 |
11.2 % |
7.3 pp |
|
$440,000 |
-5.4 % |
1.4 % |
118.2 % |
-12.9 % |
80 |
40 |
24.3 % |
16.9 pp |
|
$884,000 |
-4.0 % |
-3.0 % |
95.3 % |
-21.7 % |
78 |
32 |
10.6 % |
7.0 pp |
|
$296,000 |
14.0 % |
3.6 % |
37.0 % |
4.1 % |
56 |
8 |
16.3 % |
8.2 pp |
|
$324,000 |
47.3 % |
19.6 % |
121.9 % |
-2.5 % |
72 |
24 |
17.4 % |
12.3 pp |
|
$590,000 |
19.2 % |
6.9 % |
68.8 % |
0.4 % |
74 |
8 |
15.1 % |
9.8 pp |
|
$402,000 |
43.7 % |
22.3 % |
19.0 % |
-22.2 % |
61 |
-8 |
13.7 % |
7.1 pp |
|
$417,000 |
12.5 % |
5.7 % |
17.6 % |
-10.1 % |
61 |
3 |
9.6 % |
5.2 pp |
|
$505,000 |
10.8 % |
4.7 % |
303.5 % |
45.3 % |
54 |
28 |
18.3 % |
12.6 pp |
|
$325,000 |
-5.9 % |
-4.1 % |
109.2 % |
10.8 % |
81 |
4 |
17.8 % |
9.1 pp |
|
$659,000 |
5.5 % |
4.2 % |
10.1 % |
-11.2 % |
89 |
3 |
8.3 % |
3.7 pp |
|
$337,000 |
9.0 % |
5.9 % |
101.1 % |
-28.2 % |
64 |
12 |
14.9 % |
9.6 pp |
|
$427,000 |
7.4 % |
9.9 % |
144.5 % |
-4.2 % |
74 |
30 |
20.5 % |
15.5 pp |
|
$319,000 |
6.5 % |
3.2 % |
27.1 % |
-6.6 % |
73 |
8 |
13.3 % |
6.1 pp |
|
$478,000 |
-3.9 % |
1.2 % |
190.4 % |
-3.9 % |
75 |
37 |
30.2 % |
24 pp |
|
$200,000 |
-2.5 % |
-4.4 % |
24.6 % |
-5.8 % |
87 |
9 |
15.6 % |
6.1 pp |
|
$596,000 |
8.4 % |
0.5 % |
107.2 % |
-12.5 % |
73 |
10 |
15.9 % |
3.4 pp |
|
$470,000 |
4.4 % |
2.6 % |
32.7 % |
-10.7 % |
56 |
9 |
9.6 % |
5.4 pp |
|
$442,000 |
4.0 % |
-0.3 % |
254.8 % |
49.0 % |
78 |
41 |
17.5 % |
13.3 pp |
|
$377,000 |
3.4 % |
5.8 % |
60.6 % |
2.4 % |
63 |
-20 |
9.7 % |
7.3 pp |
|
$550,000 |
0.9 % |
4.8 % |
124.4 % |
-20.6 % |
78 |
33 |
15.7 % |
11.4 pp |
|
$229,000 |
14.8 % |
11.9 % |
25.1 % |
-5.0 % |
47 |
7 |
7.4 % |
3.1 pp |
|
$592,000 |
-4.5 % |
-4.2 % |
82.6 % |
-33.9 % |
68 |
27 |
15.7 % |
10.1 pp |
|
$345,000 |
1.8 % |
1.6 % |
105.4 % |
4.8 % |
80 |
25 |
21.4 % |
15.5 pp |
|
$900,000 |
7.1 % |
2.3 % |
79.2 % |
-24.4 % |
55 |
13 |
11.4 % |
7.9 pp |
|
$972,000 |
2.5 % |
-3.9 % |
47.1 % |
-31.0 % |
64 |
25 |
10.5 % |
7.8 pp |
|
$1,349,000 |
3.9 % |
-1.0 % |
68.8 % |
-33.9 % |
55 |
13 |
9.0 % |
6.9 pp |
|
$725,000 |
5.8 % |
0.8 % |
181.1 % |
-21.7 % |
66 |
29 |
14.8 % |
12.7 pp |
|
$270,000 |
11.6 % |
5.8 % |
26.5 % |
-15.5 % |
67 |
7 |
13.8 % |
6.8 pp |
|
$400,000 |
3.9 % |
4.1 % |
209.0 % |
9.5 % |
67 |
26 |
25.0 % |
20.1 pp |
|
$365,000 |
17.7 % |
7.8 % |
19.7 % |
3.5 % |
54 |
10 |
12.6 % |
6.1 pp |
|
$563,000 |
12.5 % |
-2.5 % |
34.5 % |
-11.0 % |
64 |
15 |
11.5 % |
6.6 pp |
|
Methodology
Realtor.com® housing data as of January 2023. Listings include the active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes/rowhomes/co-ops for the given level of geography; new construction is excluded unless listed via an MLS. Realtor.com® data history goes back to July 2016. 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Realtor.com® cross-market data analyzes views of for-sale listings on the Realtor.com® marketplace in the top 100 metros. With the release of its Q4 2022 cross market report, Realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing more online searching activities. As a result of these changes, the data released since February 2023 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases and Realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology.
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit Realtor.com® .
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SOURCE Realtor.com
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