October 20, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

If you’re like me and monitor the sale of homes in your neighborhood or surrounding area, you may be noticing that some homes have been for sale for quite some time. I’ve noticed many homes sitting. And sitting. And sitting. In fact in my HOA alone, two townhomes have been on sale for the better part of the year, and this is typically a neighborhood that has seen swift buying in the past.

According to Realtor.com, the housing market is in a particularly sluggish phase due to interest rates that are persistently uncooperative and the ongoing government shutdown:

“Homes continue to spend more time on the market than last year, and prices remain flat, signaling higher inventory and lower competition,” says Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith. Smith forecasts that overall housing transactions will decelerate until Republicans and Democrats in Congress finally come to an agreement and resume government funding.

The article does state that new sale listings were about 5 percent higher last week compared to the same period last year, which is a slight increase that reflects some hesitation among homeowners to list properties. But newly listed homes are down about 1.2% YOY.

“Active inventory is growing significantly faster than new listings, an indication that more homes are sitting on the market for longer, and homeowners aren’t eager to sell,” notes Smith.

Homes are now apparently taking about as long to sell as they did in pre-pandemic times, says Smith. “As homes spend longer on the market, sellers are more likely to reduce their asking price, eager to close a sale before the end of the year.”

Ah. The joys of homeownership.

The full article can be read HERE.