Danielle Hale Chief Economist | realtors.com
The housing market in November experienced its slowest pace in five years, largely due to high mortgage rates. According to Realtor.com senior economist Ralph McLaughlin, "We find that high rates in November had led to the slowest market since January of this year and the slowest November in five years." Homes remained on the market for an average of 62 days, 11 days longer than last year.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate approached 7%, causing many buyers to hesitate. The Realtor.com 2025 housing forecast predicts that mortgage rates will average 6.3% next year, slightly down from the expected 6.7% by the end of 2024 but still above historical averages.
McLaughlin noted, "Higher mortgage rates continue to erode buyer purchasing power, making it harder for many would-be homeowners to afford the homes they want." Despite this, more housing stock is becoming available, which could stabilize the market.
Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale mentioned that "although many buyers are still stretched thin on housing affordability, today’s shoppers have some advantages."
Home prices saw a slight decrease with a median price drop of 0.7% year over year to $416,880. However, McLaughlin explained that "the median price per square foot grew by 1.6%, indicating that the inventory of smaller and more affordable homes continues to grow in share."
Sellers were cautious as only 16.7% of listings underwent price cuts compared to last year's 18%. McLaughlin stated, "Sellers are becoming more cautious as market conditions shift."
Active listings rose by 26.2% in November compared with last year, marking a significant increase since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Hale described this as "the greatest number of options that home shoppers have seen since December 2019."
In terms of regional performance, the South had the largest increase in housing stock at 34.8%. McLaughlin said, "The South saw the smallest gap in inventory compared to pre-pandemic levels." The West also showed improvement with a rise of 29.2%.
San Diego led major metros with a surge in housing stock at 52.5%, followed by Miami and Denver.
Despite homes lingering longer on the market than they have in five years, McLaughlin pointed out that "the time a typical home spends on the market is still five days less than the average November from 2017 to 2019," providing buyers with more time for decision-making.
Hale concluded that "buyers who want to take their time mulling a major decision are seeing the market support that."
Alerts Sign-up