With Markets Oversaturated, Home Sales Slow to a Crawl in Some Metros  

Homes for sale sit on the market an average of 37 days nationally, but in the slowest markets, the average wait is 57 days, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.

In Miami, the slowest real estate market, homes sit for a median of 69 days, but in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the fastest, homes sell in just 13 days.

The study, which also focused on Americans’ home-selling concerns, said the 10 cities with the longest wait times have oversaturated markets with about 3.5 months’ worth of housing inventory, compared to just 2.8 months nationally.

The slowest-selling housing markets are:

1. Miami, Florida (69 days)
2. Austin, Texas (66 days)
3. Jacksonville, Florida (63 days)
4. San Antonio, Texas (62 days)
5. Birmingham, Alabama (57 days)
6. Nashville, Tennessee (56 days)
7. Pittsburgh (55 days)
8. New York (55 days)
9.   Phoenix (54 days)
10.   Chicago  (53 days)

The fastest-selling markets are:

1. Grand Rapids, Michigan (13 days)
2. Buffalo, New York (14 days)
3. Seattle (15 days)
4. San Jose California (16 days)
5. Richmond, Virginia (18 days)
6. Boston  (21 days)
7. Indianapolis, Indiana (21 days)
8. Sacramento, California (23 days)
9. San Diego (23 days)
10. Fresno, California (23 days)

The report also listed the metro areas with the highest and lowest sale prices.

The five markets with the highest median sale prices are:

1. San Jose, California ($1,545,000)
2. San Francisco ($1,497,000)
3. San Diego ($901,000)
4. Los Angeles ($894,000)
5. Seattle ($823,000)

The five markets with the lowest median sales prices are:

1. Detroit ($189,000)
2. Cleveland ($221,000)
3. Pittsburgh ($231,000)
4. Buffalo, New York ($250,000)
5. St. Louis, Missouri ($261,000)

The survey found that 88% of homeowners are anxious about selling their homes. The top selling-related fears are: the stress of the sale (42%), selling costs (40%), not being able to afford a different home (32%), and not being able to sell for enough money (32%).

The top fear expressed by 85% of respondents is that they’ll feel pressured to accept a lowball offer. Other top worries are: buyers demanding too many concessions (72%) and backing out at the last minute (70%).

Among homeowners still paying off mortgages, 47% have an interest rate under 4%, and 30% worry they could lose their current rate.

Among homeowners, 19% said a major economic downturn is the top reason they would delay sales plans while a property tax increase was cited as the top reason to sell faster (43%).