Skyrocketing Delistings and the Pricing Imbalance

The amount of homes listed for sale and then delisted – taken off the market without selling – is rocketing to all-time highs.

Why it matters: Rising delistings are a sign of a pricing imbalance, with asking prices higher than what buyers are willing to pay.

• National delistings, as a percentage of total listings, are roughly double the normal rate, bucking seasonal trends, and accelerating rapidly.

It all starts with pricing – and new listings coming to market are being priced very high.

• The median price per square foot on new listings is at record highs.

Another sign of a pricing imbalance are price drops, the number of which are also rising.

• The percentage of active listings with price reductions is higher than it’s been for years, and is increasing.

And for the houses that are selling, it’s taking longer.

• The median amount of days on market is slowly increasing and is higher than past years.

The bottom line : The surge of new listings coming to market are overpriced, leading to a rapidly increasing number of delistings and price drops.

• This is the start of a price correction; sellers are bringing more inventory to market, but with “aspirational pricing” that buyers are not willing to pay.
  

• The record number of pricing corrective measures will likely lead to an overall correction – lower prices – as supply and demand continues to rebalance.