00:00 Speaker A
As we head into the spring home buying season, February shelter costs were 4.2% higher than the same time a year ago. The smallest 12 month increase since December of 2021. Joel Berner, realtor.com senior economist joins me now to talk more about housing. Joel, good to have you here with us on the show. Just want to get your takeaway from this latest consumer price index print and the shelter component.
00:42 Joel Berner
Yeah, just like we heard, this number tends to lag. Uh it’s a survey of actual renters who are reporting how much they’re paying. And so a lot of people were seeing stay in their homes for longer than they have in previous years in this high mortgage rate environment. Uh lots of would be first time home buyers are remaining renters for longer and we’re seeing those same home rents increase uh at a pace that’s a lot faster than what we’re seeing on the market. I’m working on right now our monthly rental report and what’s going to show that for the last 19 months, the market asking rate has actually been falling on a year-over-year basis. So this CPI readout is really just catching up to the realities of the market with what can be charged for rent right now.
01:45 Speaker A
And so, with all of this in mind, as you’re thinking about the costs that we’re looking at for shelter, what are we seeing in terms of just home prices easing because this has been increasingly important to address the affordability crisis right now.
02:19 Joel Berner
Yeah, price per square foot growth has really slowed down, but remains positive. Uh what’s falling right now is the median listing price, but that’s more of a result of smaller homes hitting the market. So we are seeing a lot of price reductions on the market right now. Uh in February that reached the highest level it’s been in a February since 2017. So a lot of sellers on the market are having to make adjustments to get their homes sold.
03:05 Speaker A
realtor.com found that the best time to sell a home this year is the week of April 13th through April 19th. Why is that, Joel?
03:21 Joel Berner
Well, that’s a combination of several factors. So at that time of the year prices are relatively high, there’s relatively less competition from other sellers and relatively more views on homes from home shoppers than there are at other times of the year. Uh this week of April 13th is kind of the perfect mix of those three criteria. Uh and an opportunity to sell your home at a good price when lots of people are looking and before the big surge of new homes hitting the market. So we find that historically this kind of middle April time period is the best time to list your home.
04:05 Speaker A
Okay, so what does that mean for buyers? Should they also be planning for early spring purchases or making sure that they’ve checked their lists and running through all of the properties that are out there that have caught their attention?
04:27 Joel Berner
Well, right now in 2025, the spring is a good time for buyers. Uh we’re seeing some really buyer-friendly conditions on the market. Uh time on market has increased, the number of price reductions has increased and inventory is up. So right now is a good spring for buyers, but generally, looking at historical trends, the best time to buy a home is in the fall. Uh just for the opposite reasons as spring is the best time to sell a home, fall is the best time to buy a home. There’s less competition from other shoppers. There are more homes on the market that have been sitting all summer and haven’t sold yet and price reductions are at a higher point than they usually are. So it’s kind of a kind of a flip-flop perspective, but I will say that for 2025, it’s shaping up to be a strong buying season.