Redfin Reports Housing Supply Hits Four-Year High Due to Unsold Homes
In November, the number of active listings—the total homes for sale—reached its highest point since 2020, showing a 0.5% increase from the previous month and a 12.1% jump from the same time last year. This news could suggest a promising change for the housing market, given the ongoing discussion about America’s housing shortage. However, according to Redfin’s latest report, the situation is more complex than it initially appears.
While the total number of listings is rising, a significant portion of these homes are being ignored by buyers, many due to their perceived overpricing. In fact, over half (54.5%) of all home listings in November sat unsold for at least 60 days, the highest percentage for a November since 2019. This is a sharp increase from the previous year when 49.9% of listings had the same fate. For homes that did sell, the typical time on the market was 43 days—also the longest period for a November 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, Oregon. She explained that pricing plays a critical role in the current market dynamics. “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,” she added.
Loggins pointed out that homes priced around $650,000 tend to attract the most buyer interest but are also the most likely to linger on the market due to overpriced listings. In Portland, 58.7% of homes in November sat unsold for more than 60 days, ranking it seventh among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas.
States like Texas and Florida, where construction activity is at its peak, have seen the most significant increases in stale inventory. In Miami, 63.8% of listings in November were on the market for 60 days or more, the highest percentage among the top 50 metros. Other cities like Austin (62.4%), Fort Lauderdale (62.3%), San Antonio (60.3%), and Orlando (59.9%) followed closely behind.
One reason for the spike in unsold homes is the rapid pace of new home construction in these areas, particularly in Florida and Texas. However, rising HOA fees, soaring insurance costs, and natural disasters are contributing to buyer hesitation. Florida cities like Tampa have also seen the largest growth in stale listings, with 56.9% of homes remaining unsold for at least 60 days, up 12.3 percentage points from the previous year. Other Florida metros, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and West Palm Beach, followed similar trends, showing significant increases in stale inventory.
On the other hand, some markets have fared better in terms of home sales. For example, Providence, Rhode Island, reported the lowest percentage of stale listings, with just 38.2% of homes sitting on the market for 60 days or more. Other metros with lower percentages include Milwaukee (38.8%), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (41.4%), Warren, Michigan (41.7%), and San Jose, California (41.8%).
Interestingly, there were only three metros where the share of stale listings decreased from a year earlier. These areas were Philadelphia (-1.7 percentage points to 51%), Chicago (-0.7 percentage points to 44.9%), and San Francisco (-0.5 percentage points to 53.4%).
While the number of homes for sale has increased, the growing inventory of stale listings reflects ongoing challenges in the market. Overpricing and changing buyer priorities are playing major roles in the sluggish sales, even as more homes become available.
About Redfin
Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company that provides a range of services, including brokerage, rentals, lending, and title insurance. It runs the country’s leading real estate brokerage site and offers customers opportunities to save thousands in fees while working with top agents. Redfin’s platform allows homebuyers to tour homes on demand and its services help streamline the homebuying process. Since its launch in 2006, Redfin has saved customers over $1.6 billion in commissions and serves markets across the U.S. and Canada.
