Our research team releases regular monthly housing trends reports. These reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In addition, we continue to give readers more timely weekly updates, an effort that began in response to the rapid changes in the economy and housing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, you can look forward to a Weekly Housing Trends View and the latest weekly housing data on Thursdays with a weekly video update from our economists on Fridays. Here’s what the housing market looked like over the last week.
What this Week’s Data Means:
Double-digit home price gains continue as we move into May on the heels of a new record high median asking price in April, but the bigger story is an improvement in the number of homes available for sale. As anticipated in our April Housing Trends report, the number of homes actively for sale on Realtor.com notched the first non-negative year over year change since June 2019. While this week’s growth rounds to zero, we expect to see further gains in the weeks ahead.
The change is driven by a combination of more sellers eager to take advantage of market conditions and make good on previously delayed plans as well as fewer buyers able to contend with rising housing costs. Home shoppers who remain in the market are getting creative, using either larger down payments or selective relocation to keep monthly costs manageable amid higher home prices and mortgage rates.
Key Findings:
- The median listing price grew by 15.8 percent over last year. This marked the 21st week of double-digit gains for the typical home asking price. Last week’s Fed announcement of higher short term rates was widely expected, but mortgage rates still climbed following the news, putting further drag on homebuyer purchasing power. Buyers are employing a variety of strategies to navigate the increasingly expensive housing market. Some shoppers are making larger down payments. This is a good strategy for existing homeowners who have seen their equity grow as home prices have soared, but an increasingly challenging one for first-time homebuyers, many of whom are also contending with rents continuing to grow 4-5x faster than pre-pandemic. Other shoppers are moving to find affordability, with metro areas in the Sunbelt, particularly Texas, seeing the biggest net improvement in traffic as locals stay and outsiders aim to move in for the affordability.
- New listings–a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale–were up 4% above one year ago. Now that we’re in May, we’re in the heart of home selling season. Over the last few years, we have tended to see the number of new listings peak on an absolute basis this month while active inventory (newly listed homes plus those that have been on the market for a while) tends to peak in the fall. Seller confidence amid record high asking prices is contributing to the growth in the number of sellers this year over last.
- Active inventory grew for the first time since 2019. While the size of the improvement rounded to 0%, this week’s data markets the first time that inventory figures weren’t lower than the previous year since June 2019. Our April Housing Trends Report showed that the active listings count remained 60 percent below its level right at the onset of the pandemic. This means that for every 5 homes available for sale in the earlier period, today there are just 2. In other words, homes for sale are still limited. However, the switch to growth after nearly 3 years of decline is a step in the right direction, even though inventory continues to lag pre-pandemic normal.
- Homes spent 6 days less on the market than this time last year.With mortgage rates still climbing, homebuyers who can act quickly have an edge in a still-competitive market. In fact, our April Housing Trends Report showed that homes sat on the market for less time than ever before–a feat normally not achieved until summer. First-time homebuyers can check out our first-time home buyer guide to prepare for the process and navigate the market more confidently. For repeat buyers contemplating how to buy and sell at the same time, our seller’s market place and information can give you options you may not have realized you had.
Data Summary:
| All Changes year-over-year | Year-to-Date 2022 | Week ending April 23, 2022 | Week ending April 30, 2022 | Week ending May 7, 2022 |
| Median Listing Prices | +13.4% | +14.4% | +14.7% | +15.8% |
| New Listings | -2% | +4% | +3% | +4% |
| Active Listings | -19% | -6% | -3% | +0% |
| Time on Market | 10 days faster | 6 days faster | 7 days faster | 6 days faster |
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