San Jose has the second-highest rate of home sellers pulling their listings off the market among all major U.S. cities, according to a Redfin study released Wednesday.
The real estate tracker reported that more than 9% of homes listed for sale in San Jose were withdrawn by sellers last month. The trend is reducing housing inventory in the South Bay and intensifying price pressures for prospective homebuyers in an already competitive market.
Redfin officials point to a combination of high inflation, elevated mortgage rates and shifting financial calculations for sellers as the primary drivers behind the market pullback.
“They might be paying more in property tax, paying more in interest if they have a mortgage rate, so they have to make a really large change to a state or city with a much lower cost of living in order for it to be worth it for them to give up their home,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
The report also noted that many sellers are choosing to delist their properties after failing to fetch their desired asking prices, as high interest rates continue to price out or discourage buyers.
The tightening market has left many local residents feeling locked out of homeownership. San Jose resident Austin Hardy, who said he hoped to purchase a home in the South Bay within the next five years, noted that the lack of inventory is keeping prices out of reach despite having stable employment.
“I have a pretty good job right now, but even then it’s really hard to keep up,” Hardy said. “I’d say of all things, it’s just the price really.”
For others, like local resident Gianna Jelic, the timeline for buying a home continues to drift further into the future.
“I feel like it’s gonna be in 5 to 10 years I’ll be able to purchase a house, it’s crazy,” Jelic said.