October Net New Listing Volume Sharply Down YoY

HouseCanary, a real estate brokerage and valuation company, has released its most recent iteration of the Market Pulse Report covering October 2023 which showed that marked activity—in terms of net new listing volume—remains sharply down year-over-year as net new listings placed on the market are now down 14.9% compared to last year. 

As interest rates found new highs for the seventh week in a row as the Federal Reserve works toward cutting inflation to a target rate of 2% resulting in low market activity, continuing a trend seen throughout 2023. 

Low inventory has done anything but help the situation. Listing volume still lags far behind contract volume; also notable is the fact that HouseCanary predicts that inventory has probably peaked for the year and the peak was the lowest recorded since the pandemic began. 

With market activity at a near standstill and rates expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future, potential buyers will likely continue to favor the rental market. 

According to Jeremy Sicklick, the Co-founder and CEO of HouseCanary, things are going to continue to be rough for buyers into the near future. 

“In October, the housing market continued to face low activity, following persistent rate hikes and low inventory. Compared to 2022, our data shows a decrease of 14.9% in net new listing volume and a 3.1% decrease in contract volume, putting further pressure on inventory’” Sicklick said. “Interest rate shock is having the biggest impact on net new listing volume, as potential buyers continue to grapple with uncertain market conditions and turn towards the rental market. With inflation rates still sitting above the Federal Reserve’s stated target of 2%, there is a possibility of rates reaching 8% or more, putting would-be buyers under further pressure.” 

Key takeaways from the report, as highlighted by HouseCanary are: 

• Over the last 52 weeks, 2,429,785 net new listings were placed on the market, and 2,579,509 properties went under contract. This represents a decrease of 23.7% and 17.9%, respectively. 
• For the month of October 2023, 202,101 net new listings were placed on the market, and 231,086 properties went under contract. This represents a decrease of 14.9% and 3.1%, respectively, versus October 2022. 
• The decrease in net new listings was driven by a 14.8% decrease in new listing volume as well as a 14.3% decrease in removals compared to October 2022. 
• Total inventory is down 2.7% from the same period in 2022, and down 0.8% from 2021. Inventory remains very low from a historical perspective. 
• Median days on market stands at 40. This is down 7.0% from where it was one year prior at 43 days on market. 
• The median price of all single-family rental listings in the US was $2,550. On a year-over-year basis, the median price of all single-family rental listings is up 2.2%. Month-over-month, the median price of single-family rental listings is down 1.0%. 

Click here for the full report.