-- US home sellers outnumbered buyers by a near-record percentage in March, a survey by Redfin showed Monday.
Home sellers exceeded buyers by an estimated 43% last month, compared with the largest gap on record of just above 45% in December, according to the online real estate brokerage. The March tally increased from 28% a year earlier.
There were about 1.39 million homebuyers in the market in March, little changed from a month ago and down 10% year-over-year, Redfin data showed. The number of sellers slipped slightly sequentially and annually, at nearly 2 million.
"Home sellers have been retreating in part due to lackluster demand from buyers," the Redfin report said. "Some sellers are delisting after watching their homes sit on the market, while others are choosing not to list at all after seeing nearby homes sell for below the asking price."
In March, 38 of 49 US metro areas tracked by Redfin were buyer's markets, compared with 29 a year ago.
Miami, Nashville, Austin, Texas, San Antonio and Las Vegas had more than twice as many sellers as buyers, Redfin said.
"High property taxes, rising insurance costs and fears about job security are making homebuyers very selective," Barb Cooper, a Redfin Premier real estate agent, said. "The buyers who are in the market want turnkey homes in every sense, and they can afford to wait without compromising because we have tons of inventory."
Pending home sales in the US posted the biggest drop in a year as the Middle East conflict and high costs dampened demand, Redfin said Thursday.
US homebuilder confidence sank this month to the lowest since September amid economic uncertainty, as well as increasing building material costs and interest rates, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said Wednesday.