Weekly Housing Market Update: Scales Tip in Favor of Sellers as Existing-Home Sales Rise

More homebuyers are finally coming off the sidelines, tipping the housing market in favor of sellers. 

This week, existing-home sales ticked up to a six-month-high pace of 4.15 million, increasing about 4.8% from October. The November sales figure, which excludes new construction, represented a 6.1% jump from one year ago. It’s the largest year-over-year gain since June 2021. 

But while the scales might be tipping in favor of sellers, a more balanced market is on the horizon. 

In fact, weekly data from Realtor.com® shows that active listings were up more than 23% in mid-December from the prior year, and new listings growth also remains robust. 

Listing prices have shown some weakness in contrast to home sales prices, which have climbed higher. By either measure, home prices remain high, keeping homeowners in solid financial shape. Home equity or housing wealth was $35 trillion in the third quarter, the second-highest level recorded.

Shelter inflation remains top of mind for most Americans, and this week’s rental report helps explain why. Market asking rents fell for the 16th month in November. Even after the declines, rents remain just 3.8% below their 2022 peak. 

The latest report also shows that minimum-wage workers must put in extra hours to keep rent affordable in most markets. This trend is particularly acute in New York City, where the minimum wage is set to increase on Jan. 1.

November construction data was mixed. Permitting activity generally remains high, while actual starts eased—especially for multifamily builds. In good news for homebuyers, single-family completions continued to edge higher, meaning more new supply.

The big economic news of the week came from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting. The Fed cut its funds rate, as widely expected. However, Chairman Jerome Powell reset market expectations for what’s ahead: Namely fewer rate cuts and higher rates in 2025 and 2026.

Mortgage rates ticked up this week and are likely to climb again as markets continue to digest the Fed’s updates. However, I still expect an eventual decline in 2025, as detailed in the Realtor.com 2025 Housing Forecast. 

Finally, in light of holiday visiting, a recent Realtor.com study found more extra or guest bedrooms than ever. This is due in part to larger homes, but also the fact that America’s households are shrinking. Not surprisingly, lower-cost housing markets tend to have more extra bedrooms and high-cost markets have fewer.