The share of new affordable properties listed for sale fell to a record low in October.
According to PropTrack, the share of listings for less than $600,000 fell to a record-low 35.8%. In March 2020, more than half of all new listings were considered affordable.
This came despite the falls in national home prices over recent months.
The PropTrack report showed that there is a divergence between houses and units.
In fact, the number of new listings for houses under $600,000 shifted from 50.3% in March 2020 to 33.5% in October.
On the other hand, there is a marginal change in units. During the same period, the share of affordable unit listings declined from 59.2% to 52.3%.
The decline in the share of new listings under $600,000 since the onset of the pandemic has been much greater in regional areas, from 71.2% to 45.6%.
In capital cities, the decline was from 42.5% to 30.6%.
PropTrack director for economic research Cameron Kusher said the rising cost of housing since the onset of the pandemic has significantly reduced the supply of affordable listings coming to the market.
“As prices continue to fall, we may see more properties coming on to the market at lower price points,” he said.
“However, it seems unlikely that we’ll see a significant uplift in the share of new listings under $600,000, which highlights ongoing affordability challenges”
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