As more owners continue to hang onto their houses, home values locally and across the nation have reached a new peak, but it comes at a cost. With fewer homeowners putting their houses on the market, the drought in inventory has intensified.
“Homebuyers have persisted this spring despite daunting affordability challenges and record-low inventory,” said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. “Demand typically begins to ease in the summer, and there are signs that competition is waning, but large price declines are unlikely until more homeowners list their homes for sale.”
From May to June, the typical home value in the U.S. rose 1.4% to more than $350,000 for the first time, breaking last July’s record and rising for the fourth month in a row, according to a new Zillow report.
Atlanta’s home value was $375,553, according to Zillow’s June home value index, a 1.2% month-over-month change.
Listings continue to fall
Despite that rise in home values, June saw 28% fewer listings than a year ago.
“June is usually one of the best months for fresh inventory, but this year only 376,500 new listings arrived on the market,” the report stated. “That’s closer to levels seen in the slower months of February and October than to average new listings in June (505,100), according to Zillow data reaching back to 2018.”
Atlanta saw new inventory fall 32.4% from June 2022, while total inventory fell 13.2%.
Rising mortgage rates continue to drive the lack of new listings. The current rate of 6.8% is the highest since November, up from 5.1% last year and 3% two years ago. That increased cost continues to have homeowners staying put. But Zillow says that’s not the only reason. A steady increase in home values since January indicates some homeowners could be holding out for higher prices.
June’s average monthly mortgage payment in the Atlanta market was $1,934, up 119% from 2019.
“It could be that some homeowners have been waiting until prices set new highs in their market before opting to cash in their chips,” Tucker said.
June’s total number of existing homes for sale is lower than any other June since 2018, down 10% from last year, but down 45% from June 2019.
I am not seeing that on my end. I see Conventional and VA appraisal coming back lower than the contract price. The banks are not lending the money and deals are falling apart. The sellers needs to understand that was two years ago when buyers were overpaying for homes. Now with interest rates climbing. Buyers are holding on to their cash. Remember, with food cost off the charts. Buyers are staying put!