Active Inventory Grows as Sellers Keep Homes on the MarketBy RISMedia Staff
As the holiday season approaches, housing market activity on both the buyer and seller sides are cooling right along with the temperatures. Moving toward what is typically a slower time for the housing market anyway, a new report shows buyers are holding back as elevated rates continue to diminish their buying power and sellers are bringing fewer homes to market, but not broadly delisting.
According to the Realtor.com’s October monthly housing report, new listings fell 7.5% year over year, the steepest decline of 2026, while 4.4% of active listings were delisted, compared with 4.6% a year earlier. The preliminary share of listings with price cuts was 20.5%, just 0.2 percentage points above last year and down from September. Meanwhile, the report shows the number of homes under contract fell 10.5% year over year, the greatest decline in nearly three years, as buyers pulled back. The national median list price was $415,000 in October, down 2.2% from a year earlier and marking the 12th consecutive month of annual declines. Active inventory grew for a fourth straight month, bringing the national supply gap to 6.7% below typical pre-pandemic levels—the narrowest gap since the pandemic, according to the report. Buyers pull back as supply builds Realtor.com says the stock of homes under contract fell 10.5% year over year for a third consecutive monthly decline, the steepest annual drop since October 2023. Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 7.33% in October, 110 basis points above a year earlier, putting added pressure on buyers’ purchasing power. At the same time, 357,000 new listings came to market, down 7.5% from October 2025. Despite fewer new listings, active inventory reached 1,183,500 homes, up 7.4% year over year—the fastest annual growth in eight months. The year-over-year acceleration partly reflects a slower inventory comparison last fall; active listings have also risen each month since February. National inventory is now 6.6% below typical pre-pandemic levels, the narrowest gap since the pandemic. Sellers hit pause, not the exit Sellers did not respond to weaker demand with a broad wave of withdrawals, the report shows. The number of delisted homes rose 2.7% year over year, but the delisting rate— delistings as a share of active listings—held at 4.4%, compared with 4.6% a year earlier. The rate ticked up from about 4.0% in September, in line with the typical seasonal rise into fall. Price cuts remained common, but their share eased from September. 20.5% of active listings saw their prices reduced in October, down 0.3 percentage points from the prior month and 0.2 points above a year earlier. The October share was the highest for the month since 2022 and the second-highest of 2026. “Rates eased to 7.24% on Oct. 29, down from 7.40% in mid-October, but they remained 107 basis points above a year ago and 53 basis points above early September. That loss of purchasing power is showing up first in demand: The stock of homes under contract is down over 10% year over year, while the rate of contract signings fell 17% year over year,” said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com. As the market moves into the holiday months, the balance between inventory and prices will be an important test, writes Realtor.com. More homes for sale and slower sales can increase supply, but if sellers do not make deeper price cuts, buyers may not gain as much ground as inventory growth alone suggests. “On the seller side, we see more of a pause than an exodus,” said Krimmel. “New listings are down at a time of year when activity is already seasonally low, but the share of listings with price cuts is only 0.2 percentage points above last year and slipped from September. We also haven’t seen a meaningful increase in delistings. As we approach the holidays, a seller pulling a listing around Halloween or Thanksgiving is not necessarily showing the same distress as one who exits in midsummer.” Click here to read the full report. |
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