Rising Costs and Cautious Sellers Slow Market Momentum as Buyers Gain Negotiating Power (Lester, 2025)
"The average home that was under contract in July was listed for 43 days. According to a recent report from Redfin, reflecting the largest duration for any July since 2015 and up from 35 days a year earlier.
Due to declining demand brought on by high homebuying expenses and economic uncertainty, homes are taking longer to sell. Existing home sales decreased slightly to the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,150,266 in almost a year, while pending home sales dropped 1.1% month-over-month (MoM) in July to the lowest seasonally adjusted level since November 2023.
Supply has been increasing as a result of homes remaining on the market, providing buyers with more choices and less pressure. Despite down 1.1% from June—the worst monthly seasonally-adjusted decline in over two years—active listings of houses for sale in July were close to the highest level in five years. The seasonally-adjusted number of new listings dropped 0.4% MoM to its lowest level since March 2024.
“Supply is starting to fall because prospective sellers are choosing not to list after seeing their neighbor’s home linger on the market or sell for below the asking price,” said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “Some existing sellers are also pulling their homes off the market, opting instead to rent their house out or hold off on a move altogether—especially if they bought at the peak of the pandemic market and are worried about taking a loss.”"
(Image from Mortgage Point, Demetria C. Lester, 2025)
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