Inventory Rose for Fifth Straight Month: Homes.com

May listings data released this past week from Homes.com reveals the inventory of homes for sale in the U.S. rose for the fifth-consecutive month, approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Preliminary data from the mega-portal shows homes available for sale in the U.S. increased by 17.2% year-over-year in May to more than 1.02 million homes, the highest levels seen since October 2019. These numbers could change slightly once all listings are accounted for, the report noted, but it gives an early look at what is happening with housing inventory in the United States.

Erika Ludvigsen, national director of Residential Analytics for Homes.com, said the early look at the data collected so far bodes well for the remainder of the year.

“With the supply of homes for sale steadily increasing to pre-pandemic levels, buyers are beginning to regain negotiating power,” Ludvigsen said. “The increase in inventory suggests that a transition from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market that started earlier this year could continue in the second half of the year.”

Some of the results include:

– In terms of volume, listings increased by 150,588 homes to 1,023,794. In May, single-family homes saw a 15.1% year-over-year increase in inventory to 831,756 units, townhome inventory rose 21.9% to 74,755 units, while inventory of condos increased 31.8% to 117,267 units.

– Inventory growth is one of several good signs for homebuyers. In May, the number of homes available for sale continued to rise, providing more options for homebuyers. April Homes.com data showed that home price increases slowed for the fourth consecutive month. While mortgage rates have remained elevated near 7%, increasing inventory provides buyers with greater negotiating power, suggesting a slight shift away from a seller’s market and towards a buyer’s market at the national level.

– Regionally, many of the highest inventory growth markets continued to be in the Sunbelt and parts of the West. In May, of the 10 markets with the largest volume increases compared to a year ago, four were in the Sunbelt and four were in the West. Homes.com noted Atlanta led the way with inventory increasing by over 41% in the past year, followed by Miami, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh. By contrast, the Midwest had four of the 10 markets with the lowest rate of inventory growth or markets that saw fewer homes on the market in May than the previous year. Only three of the top 40 U.S. metros saw a decline in listing volume compared to May 2024: Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, and Nashville.

“Listings have increased in the Sunbelt and West regions at a higher rate than in other parts of the U.S.,” added Ludvigsen. “And the increase in supply has already dampened price pressures. According to the Homes.com price data, median home prices have begun to decline this year in several Florida markets.”

For the latest data and reporting from Homes.com visit https://www.homes.com/news/category/housing-market/.