Availability of for-sale inventory shrank at its quickest pace in over two years last month, as new home listings also landed at their lowest level since mid 2024, according to Redfin. 

Active listings decreased 1.4% from October, the largest seasonally adjusted drop since June 2023. The number doubled the previous month's 0.7% pace to approximately 1.95 million properties, according to the real estate brokerage.  

Similarly, new market listings dipped a seasonally adjusted 2.2% month over month, driving the total number down to 527,000, its lowest mark since mid 2024. By comparison, the same number edged up in October by 0.1%. 

Hesitant home buyers are turning into hesitant sellers, and their recent moves are not only driving down total listing volume, but also prices, the real estate brokerage said. 

"The challenge is that most sellers are also buyers, and homes are expensive, so they often need to get a certain amount for their house to afford the next one," said Los Angeles Redfin agent Carlos Castillo in a press release. 

While both home buyers and sellers are in retreat at the moment, more of the former have taken themselves out of the market. Market conditions are thus favoring the remaining buyers, giving them more leverage to negotiate for price cuts and other incentives, Redfin said.

The typical home in November sold for 1.6% below their final list prices — the biggest pullback in six years for the month. Still, the median price still came at $433,222, which was 0.7% above its value of 12 months earlier. 

Listed properties are also taking longer to attract buyers. The 53-day period for new listings to go under contract last month was seven days longer from November 2024. It was also the slowest pace for any November since 2016. 

Are sellers waiting for spring?

The latest data coincides with recent research from the likes of Redfin, Zillow and Realtor.com that showed a rising number of homeowners choosing to remove, or delist, their properties. Delisted properties in September grew 28% year over year, Redfin recently reported. 

Recent delistings, though, may also be attributed to seasonal patterns. Rather than holding out through the winter, some sellers are choosing to delist in hopes of better fortunes in the spring buying season 

Zillow, which last week similarly reported a notable falloff of new listings on both a monthly and yearly basis, saw prospects of housing turnover improving early next year, it said in a report.  

The slowing pace of home price growth, which is driven in part from reduced asking prices, might also be playing on the minds of some sellers and decreasing inventory. Rather than let go of their homes for below what they think is appropriate market value, sellers are choosing to pause and wait. 

If homes were purchased in the last two-to-three years, homeowners may be facing the prospect of offloading them at a loss in some U.S. metropolitan areas given current housing market conditions.  

"With buyers and sellers far apart, the sellers' solution is to pull that trump card and delist, rather than cut prices," Realtor.com's senior economist Jake Krimmel said in a recent housing report.