cities where – New Zillow data points to a clear split: cities in parts of the South and Midwest are seeing faster year-over-year gains in existing home sales as housing inventory rebounds, while many Northeastern metros—and parts of California—are still struggling with inve
In Austin, homes are selling in about 17 days—roughly the same pace the market kept before the COVID-19 disruption. The city is also leading major U.S. metros with a 20 percent annual jump in existing home sales. a sign that the housing scramble of the pandemic years is easing in at least some places.
Zillow’s new data ties that rebound to one thing buyers have needed most: more options. Austin’s inventory is 52 percent above pre-pandemic averages. the highest level among the nation’s major metros included in Zillow’s reporting. The result is a market where families don’t have to move as quickly—and where competition. at least for now. isn’t quite as fierce.
Zillow said its findings show what happens when “shelves” get restocked after years of tight supply. Markets that added housing supply during the pandemic housing boom are seeing stronger recoveries in sales activity after enduring a slowdown in recent years. the company reported. In the report published this week. Orphe Divounguy. senior economist on Zillow’s economic research team. said: “After years of low supply. markets with restocked shelves are seeing relatively stronger sales growth.” He added: “Now those same markets with a wealth of options for buyers are seeing recovering sales. as incomes are more in line with prices.”.
That pattern stands out most clearly in the Texas market. San Antonio posted an 11.7 percent rise in annual home sales, while Dallas saw an 8.6 percent increase. Houston posted more modest growth at 3.3 percent, still above the national increase of 2.3 percent.
Outside Texas, other Southern and Western metros also showed momentum. Nashville, Tennessee recorded an 8.8 percent increase in sales, while Raleigh rose 7.4 percent and Miami climbed 6.6 percent. Phoenix and Denver each recorded solid gains.
Zillow also found that inventory has fully recovered in 19 of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas. with the most concentrated recovery in Southern and Western states. Still, the strength wasn’t limited to the Sun Belt. Milwaukee emerged as one of the strongest performing metros outside the Sun Belt. with a 14.4 percent increase in existing home sales year over year. Richmond, Virginia and New Orleans, Louisiana each saw sales rise 12.7 percent.
In the Midwest and North, Chicago also outperformed with a 10.1 percent increase, and Louisville, Kentucky recorded a 7.8 percent gain.
But if the South and parts of the Midwest are seeing buyers take advantage of more inventory, the Northeast remains stuck in the grip of tighter conditions.
New York recorded an 8.7 percent drop in existing home sales, one of the steepest declines among major metros. Pittsburgh fell 8.3 percent, Providence dropped 8 percent and Philadelphia declined 7.7 percent. Hartford, Connecticut posted an 8.6 percent decrease, while Seattle and Buffalo also recorded notable declines.
Several California markets continued to struggle as well. Los Angeles posted a 1.9 percent decrease in sales, while Riverside and San Jose also declined year over year.
At the same time, Zillow said costs beyond housing are still a major obstacle for buyers nationwide, even as mortgage payments ease in some cities. The company said: “The rising costs of everything else are one limiting factor, straining budgets and pausing major purchases.”
The national picture remains constrained. Zillow reported that nationwide inventory in April was still 18.7 percent below pre-pandemic norms. even after active listings increased 3.7 percent from a year earlier. New listings were also subdued: Zillow said new listings nationwide were down 16 percent compared with 2018 and 2019 averages. Overall sales totals were still running roughly 18 percent below those pre-pandemic levels.
Zillow said that although individual homes are selling at roughly the same pace as before the pandemic, the market overall remains limited by a lack of supply.
“The spring housing market is warming up fastest in places where buyers finally have options to choose from,” Zillow said.
On the ground, the pace of transactions has largely normalized at the listing level. Zillow noted that the median age of inventory nationwide is just one day lower than pre-pandemic averages, and homes that go pending are doing so only one day faster than they did in 2018 and 2019.
Affordability is also improving in some cities—again, particularly in parts of the South. Zillow found that the typical monthly mortgage payment in Austin was down 9.8 percent from a year earlier. one of the largest declines in the country. Dallas, Texas also saw mortgage payments fall 7.4 percent year over year, while Denver, Colorado recorded a 7 percent drop. Raleigh, North Carolina and San Antonio, Texas, also posted year-over-year declines.
Put together, Zillow’s map shows a housing market where timing and inventory can mean the difference between rising momentum and continued pressure—especially for buyers watching for enough supply to turn a stressful search into something more manageable.
Zillow home sales existing home sales housing inventory Austin Texas San Antonio Dallas Milwaukee New York home sales mortgage payments affordability real estate market