More homeowners are putting their properties on the market.

New listings were up 21% in February compared with a year earlier, according to a new analysis from the real estate website Zillow. They were up 20% compared with January.

“We’re finally beginning to see owners who have been putting off moves return to the market,” Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen said in a statement. “For many households with record-high equity, waiting out potentially lower rates later in the year may not be worth it.”

The Zillow analysis comes as mortgage interest rates fell from 6.88% last week to 6.74% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac. It’s the lowest 30-year fixed mortgage rate Freddie Mac has reported since early February. Financial analysts anticipate the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year — a move that is expected to fuel the real estate market.

For over a year, Zillow surveys have shown more homeowners expecting to sell within within the next three years. That seems to be happening now, as new listings in all 50 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas increased in February.

Total inventories are up 12% over the past year. There were at least 900,000 more homes for sale in February than during any February since the pandemic.  

The South has seen the greatest increase in listings, with Texas and Florida leading, according to Zillow. Dallas listings were up 39%, followed by Tampa, Fla. (+31%); Orlando, Fla.; (+30%) and Miami (+29%). The real estate listing site’s analysis said new construction in the South gives existing homeowners somewhere to move to once they sell.

The homes that are selling fastest are those that are “well-priced” and attractive, according to Zillow. Such homes are selling in 17 days — faster than prior to the pandemic but not quite as quickly as during 2021.

About 20% of Zillow’s real estate listings reduced their price to sell — a loss most homeowners can afford since housing values have increased so dramatically over the past four years.

Home values in almost every major metropolitan area have increased since last year. The average home value in the United States was $349,216 in February — up 4.2% compared with a year earlier and up 41% since prior to the pandemic.

San Jose, Calif., saw the largest price gains in February (+1.6%), followed by San Diego (+1.3%), Seattle (+1.2%), San Francisco (+0.8%) and Washington, D.C. (+0.8%).  Just three metro areas saw prices decline: New Orleans, La. (-7.5%); Austin, Texas (-5.1%); and San Antonio, Texas (-2.5%).