More than half of all U.S. homes for sale in February lingered on the market for at least 60 days without an offer, pushing the total value of “stale” housing inventory to a record-breaking $347 billion for this time of year, according to a recent Redfin analysis of its listings.

The mounting backlog highlights a sluggish spring market driven by a pronounced imbalance, with a record 630,000 more sellers than buyers currently active in the market. House hunters remain increasingly wary of stubbornly high mortgage rates and elevated home prices.

Buyers are also jittery due to the uncertain economic environment — including fears of layoffs, persistent inflation and the ongoing conflict in Iran — which has further cooled demand. Despite this buyer hesitation, many sellers continue to list properties or keep them on the market, hoping to cash in on near-peak home values.

Nationwide, the share of stale listings reached 52.2% in February, up from 50.1% a year prior and marking the highest level since 2019. Consequently, the typical home that went under contract in February spent 66 days on the market, the slowest pace Redfin recorded in a decade for the month of February.

Furthermore, the median home-sale price still managed to inch up roughly 1% year over year. Because home prices are rising alongside days spent on the market, the total dollar value of stale inventory has correspondingly increased to its current record high.

However, the stagnation in home sales is not evenly distributed across the nation. It is most pronounced in Sun Belt metros, which have particularly tilted in buyers’ favor since the height of the pandemic. 

Miami, for example, leads the U.S. with 62.6% of its inventory classified as stale. San Antonio and West Palm Beach, Fla., came in second and third, respectively, with 58.3% of the former’s and the 55.9% of the latter’s inventory classified as stale. In these markets, sellers outnumber buyers by more than 2 to 1.

In contrast, seller-friendly markets like the San Francisco Bay Area remain relatively insulated. San Jose, Calif., boasts the lowest stale inventory rate in the country at just 19.8%, followed by San Francisco at 24% and Oakland at 31.1%.

Even in relatively stronger markets, pricing strategies are complicating sales.

“Sellers know it’s a buyer’s market, but they still want to get as much money as they can for their home,” remarked Jason Gale, a Redfin Premier agent in New Orleans, as quoted in the report. “So they list on the high end, expecting buyers to negotiate down, and that’s leading to listings staying on the market for a long time.”