More homes are on the market than a year ago, but rising mortgage rates remain a hurdle for many

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates have been mostly ticking higher lately, but it’s not all bad news for home shoppers.

Homebuyers have a wider selection of homes to choose from now than they had at this time last year, a trend that could help lead to more sales in a market still constrained by a thin inventory of properties.

In the first four months of this year, active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — were the highest since 2020, according to Realtor.com.

The most recent monthly snapshot showed 734,318 homes on the market in April. That’s 30.4% up from the same month last year. New listings, meanwhile, jumped 12.2%.