Jacob Kepler/Bloomberg
The housing market is edging toward becoming buyer friendly, as inventory reached multi-year highs and purchase demand remained strong last month, according to HouseCanary’s latest Market Pulse Report.
Total for sale inventory reached pre-COVID levels for the first time in years with a 23% increase over August 2024. Meanwhile months of inventory stood at a neutral 4.94, which is bordering on a shift to a buyers market. Median days on the market also increased 9.1% from last year to 48.
Even though new listing activity dropped, overall inventory expanded as removals rose and buyer activity continued, the report said. Properties that went under contract in August increased 10.7% to nearly 300,000 compared with last year, and 2.7 million properties went under contract over the last 52 weeks, a 4% annual climb.
All price tiers saw spikes in contract activity, but the $600,000 to $1 million and $0 to $200,000 ranges experienced notable growth of more than 11% each.
Similar to the rest of the summer, prices remained steady in August, indicating a rebalancing market. The median listing price rose 0.9% to $457,192 and the median closed price jumped 3% to $442,427 year-over-year.
The rental market reflected much of what was seen in the housing market last month. Rental inventory surged 25.5% in August compared with the same month in 2024, one of the steepest increases in years, according to the report.
Rents remained relatively flat with a median of $2,585 year-over-year, but dipped 0.6% since July.
HouseCanary’s June and July reports boasted similar results overall, but steady prices and a 15 basis-point dive in mortgage rates this week may be a sign of even more contract activity in the fall.
