After a significant drop in April and May, new listings of high-end homes in June were down only 9 percent from last year, according to a report from Zillow.
However, while high-end listings jumped almost 40 percent since May, new listings of the most affordable homes in June were 29 percent below last year’s level.
“The way unemployment has hit in this recession – with more layoffs in service, retail, food, entertainment, and other jobs unable to be done remotely – could result in vastly different experiences on either end of the housing price spectrum,” Zillow Economist Jeff Tucker said in a release.
“Millions of Americans who lost jobs or income are only able to stay in their homes right now thanks to extraordinary forbearance programs, which means they likely have to pause their plans to trade up or move to a new city,” Tucker added. “But for wealthier homeowners whose employment has remained stable and are looking to trade up, now may be an opportune time to sell and lock in a record-low mortgage rate on their dream home.”
In June, new listings for the most expensive homes were up 33.5 percent in San Francisco; 27.3 percent in San Jose, Calif.; and 13.1 percent in Miami.
Zillow said Denver was the only large market where listings of the most expensive and the most affordable homes in June were both up from last year, 4.4 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.