Listings are rising quickly after more than two years in a historically low housing market.

According to Realtor.com active inventory in the United States rose by 33.5% between October last year and October this year. That puts supply at the highest level in two years.

It's not that sellers are rushing into the market; newly listed homes dropped 16% from a year ago, and pending listings are down 30%. But supply is growing because the homes that are on the market aren't selling as fast as they did just six months ago.

It now takes 51 days to sell a house, six more days than it did a year ago.

"As a rapid rise in rates alters the dynamics of the housing market this fall, buyers and sellers are taking steps back to refalibrate their plans," said Danielle Hale from Realtor.com.

Mortgage rates have climbed so high and so fast that home shoppers are rushing to the sidelines. Already, affordability was rough with home prices up more than 40% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. But with rates now more than twice what they were in January, at just over 7%, potential buyers are looking at a monthly payment that is nearly $1,000 higher than it would have been at the start of the year.

The availability of housing varies depending on the city and how affordable it is.

In Phoenix, inventory rose by an astonishing 174% in Oct. Since then, there has been a huge influx of buyers in Phoenix. This was due to employees being able work anywhere and moving out of California's more expensive markets. Redfin now reports that sales in the area are down 30% from last year.

Also, inventory is up 167% in Raleigh (North Carolina) and up 145% Nashville (Tennessee), which are also markets that saw an increase in buyers during pandemic. Although inventory is still low in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Hartford, Connecticut (both markets saw a surge in buyers during the pandemic), they are not as high as the previous two years.

The slowdown in demand for homes has caused sellers to cut their prices. There have been a total of 20% price reductions on Realtor.com listings, almost double that of a year back.

Still, home prices are not exactly falling yet. The price gains from a year ago are, however, shrinking at the fastest pace on record, according to several surveys.

Prices remain high so buyers are broadening their search. A little over 60% of listings were viewed on Realtor.com by shoppers who weren't in the same area as the listing. This is an increase over 57% in second quarter and 52% the same period in 2021.

"For buyers with the flexibility, relocating to a lower-priced market could help offset higher mortgage costs. The good news for sellers in these regions is that even if the home is not very expensive, they could still get strong interest from those out-of–towners." Hale concluded.