“However, as home prices have recovered over the last 10 years, many homeowners have accumulated enough equity to sell their homes at a profit. Despite the increase in equity, median tenure length jumped to 10 years in September 2018, a 10 percent year-over-year increase. Since the crisis, we had a brief period of rising rates between April 2013 and April 2014, and tenure lengths increased 6 percent during that 12-month window. The recent dramatic spike in tenure length is reflected in the growing performance gap between market potential and actual existing-home sales, which is up 48 percent since the end of 2017. Homeowners are staying in their homes longer than ever, limiting supply and slowing home sales.”
Source: Why Homeowners Staying in their Homes Dampens the Housing Market | First American Exchange Company