Listings Are at a New Price Record

Earlier this spring, list prices reached a record $300,000. The median nationally has now risen to $310,000—a brand-new record. 

In April, the listing median was $310,000, according to the latest market report from realtor.com®, besting the March record of $300,000. The price is projected to rise into summer, realtor.com researchers say, driven by gains in higher-end inventory. Compared to April 2018, there were 11 percent more listings in the $750,000-plus range this year, but 8 percent less listings at the under-$200,000 mark—an issue, because demand is highest in lower tiers.

“The U.S. median listing price set another record this month, which we expect it to continue to do through summer when prices typically hit their seasonal peak,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com. “Despite growing availability of total homes for sale, prices are rising in response to more high-end homes for sale, which is not exactly what most shoppers in today’s market are looking for.

“Inventory remains limited at the entry-level, where much of housing’s demand is concentrated,” Hale says. “This mismatch is a prime driver of the weaker sales we’ve seen so far in 2019.”

Across all price ranges, there were 60,000 more homes on the market this year, evening out to a 4 percent increase, realtor.com’s report shows. The largest jumps were in:

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
   Active Listings YoY: +92 percent

2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
   Active Listings YoY: +82 percent
   

3. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calf.
   Active Listings YoY: +39 percent

4. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.
   Active Listings YoY: +33 percent

5. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
   Active Listings YoY: +25 percent

6. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
   Active Listings YoY: +23 percent

7. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
   Active Listings YoY: +22 percent

8. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.
   Active Listings YoY: +21 percent

9. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
   Active Listings YoY: +20 percent

10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.
    Active Listings YoY: +19 percent

The biggest deficits were in:

1. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.
   Active Listings YoY: -16 percent

2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W. Va.
   Active Listings YoY: -15 percent

3. Rochester, N.Y.
   Active Listings YoY: -10 percent
   

4. Oklahoma City, Okla.
   Active Listings YoY: -8 percent

5. New Orleans-Metairie, La.
   Active Listings YoY: -7 percent

6. Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
   Active Listings YoY: -6 percent

7. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.
   Active Listings YoY: -4 percent

8. Pittsburgh, Pa.
   Active Listings YoY: -2 percent

9. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
   Active Listings YoY: -2 percent

10. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.
    Active Listings YoY: -1 percent
    

For more information, please visit www.realtor.com.  

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.