U.S. Homes for Sale Are Remaining on Market Longer: Zillow

Softening demand is keeping U.S. homes on the market longer and homeowners appear to be thinking twice about listing their properties, according to data firm Zillow’s Real Estate Market Report for March.

The median time on the market rose by four days in February from a year earlier — the first increase in four years — resulting in a 1.2% rise in March inventories. New listings dropped 6.1 percent.

“More leftovers from previous months are sticking around,” said Skylar Olsen, director of economic research at Zillow. As the market cools, “fewer homeowners are putting their homes on the market,” Olsen said.

Moreover, prices are moderating in 33 of 35 of the largest markets. In San Jose, California, the most expensive, prices dropped 0.2% from a year earlier — the first decline in four years in any of the top markets.

It’s also the first price cut in San Jose in seven years.

Nationally, the rate of price appreciation has slowed each month since peaking at 8% in December 2018.

Beyond San Jose, six major markets areas saw an annual gain of less than 3% in March — Baltimore, Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco, and San Diego.

At the same time, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Las Vegas paced gains with a year-over-year increase of at least 10%.

Across markets, home values grew 6.6% from a year earlier, sending the median home to $226,700, Zillow said.

In March, sales of previously owned homes dropped for the fourth time in five months, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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