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Housing inventory in a significant number of major metropolitan areas hit levels higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
The real estate marketplace said nearly half of America’s 50 largest metros had real estate markets whose number of active listings as of May had surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
The ten metro areas that had the largest jumps in active inventory from their averages in 2017-2019 all posted double-digit percentage increases, according to Realtor.com.
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Eight states had representation among the ten areas that Realtor.com identified as having the “most dramatic improvement in active inventory,” with Texas claiming three spots within the top-five.
Denver, Colorado
Aerial view of Denver skyline and state capitol dome at sunset. (oe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Denver stood out as the metro with the largest increase in active housing inventory from pre-pandemic levels, seeing a 100% jump, the report said. Realtor.com linked the surge in inventory to factors like increased construction and the time homes remain on the market. The city serves as the capital of the Centennial State.
Austin, Texas
In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen on April 11, 2023 in Austin, Texas. The city of Austin has been ranked as the top destination of U.S. job markets for the second consecutive year, according to data collected by The Wall Street Journal. ((Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Austin is located in Central Texas. Inventory in the metro was up 69% in May from where it stood before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Realtor.com
Seattle, Washington
SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 4: The sun sets on the Space Needle and downtown skyline as viewed at dusk on November 4, 2015, in Seattle, Washington. Seattle, located in King County, is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, and is experiencing an econo (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The real estate marketplace pegged Seattle’s change in active inventory at 60.9%. More than 780,000 people call the city home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Skyline of downtown Dallas, TX on a partly cloudy day. (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In the Dallas-Forth Worth area, inventory rose 55.5% from pre-COVID, the report said. Homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area carried a median price of $440,000 in May.
San Antonio, Texas
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – DECEMBER 11, 2018: A skyline view in downtown San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) (Robert Alexander/Getty Images / Getty Images)
San Antonio’s active inventory posted a 58.3% jump from pre-pandemic levels, per Realtor.com.
The metro areas of San Francisco, Nashville, Orlando, Las Vegas and Tuscon rounded out Realtor.com’s top-10 when it came to having notched the “largest gains” in inventory. Their increases compared to before the pandemic ranged from 53.5% for San Francisco to 23% for Tuscon, according to the real estate marketplace.
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“In general, we’re seeing strong inventory reboards in metros that have built more in the last 6 years,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “This milestone underscores both the importance of enabling housing construction and the growing divide in housing conditions across regions, where some markets are rapidly normalizing and others remain stuck in low-supply dynamics.”
The national housing market appears to be moving towards being a “buyer-friendly” one, according to Realtor.com.
The U.S. had over one million homes on the market in May, a level that the U.S. hadn’t climbed above since the winter of 2019, a separate June 5 Realtor.com report found.
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In March, the real estate marketplace said the U.S. was contending with a supply gap of about 3.8 million homes.
Supply and affordability have been two major issues that many homebuyers have been dealing with in recent years.
