While the inventory of homes for sale increased on a year-over-year basis in March, housing inventory remains significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Housing Market Trends Report. In the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., the number of homes increased by 74.4% compared with March 2022; however, inventory levels remain 43.2% below pre-pandemic levels in these metros.
Inventory increased in 47 of the 50 largest metros in March on a year-over-year basis, with only Milwaukee (-17.2%), Hartford, Connecticut (-17%), and New York (-0.9%) experiencing inventory level declines. Austin, Texas (+312.2%), Raleigh, North Carolina (+273.7%), and Nashville, Tennessee (+253.3%) experienced the largest year-over-year inventory growth. However, only Austin (+2.0%) and Las Vegas (+1.4%) had high levels of inventory in March compared with typical 2017-2019 levels, according to Realtor.com.
Metros in the South experienced the most growth in the number of homes for sale in March, a 127.4% increase compared with 2022. However, inventory levels in the region still lagged 38.8% below pre-pandemic levels. Similarly, metros in the West, Midwest, and Northeast experienced year-over-year growth in the number of homes for sale but had inventory levels far below pre-pandemic levels. No regions experienced an increase in selling activity in March, according to Realtor.com.
In March, the typical home spent 54 days on the market, 18 days longer than the same period a year ago. In the 150 largest metro areas, a typical home spent 46 days on the market. In the largest metro areas, the combined annual median list price growth rate for active listings was 7.3%.
According to Realtor.com, the national median list price increased to $424,000 in March from $415,000 in February. Prices have softened since peaking at record-high levels in June 2022, and the 6.3% yearly growth rate in March represents the lowest rate of growth since June 2020. At the current rate of slowing, Realtor.com projects list prices will decline on a year-over-year basis by the summer months. The percentage of homes with price reductions increased from to 12.6% in March from 5.8% in March 2022. Large Southern metros experienced the largest increase in the percentage of homes with price reductions.
