As housing experienced some unprecedented levels of affordability and other challenges in recent years, some of the rules of buying and selling have seen a definite shift. As 2026 looks to be shaping up as the year of market stabilization, the question remains on many minds on how fast the rules may see a shift back to what was deemed “normal,” or if some things will be changed forever.
A new report from Realtor.com® analyzed several trends in the challenges of the housing market to determine where challenges will still remain in normalization.
Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, said that four years into a challenging market, specifically noting a higher rate environment, it’s “clear that the housing market recalibrated rather than reset.”
“Supply and demand moved in the directions economic theory would suggest, but prices proved far more resilient than many anticipated, leaving today’s affordability challenges firmly in place,” he continued. “Looking forward, the real test is whether market activity can normalize without reigniting price pressure. That will depend on easing lock-in, stronger new listing growth, and fewer delistings.”
One large question about the market’s future rests on the lock-in effect—how fast it could lift and what effect that may have on supply and demand.
The report noted another recent Realtor.com analysis of outstanding mortgages, which found that a majority (over 50%) of homeowners still hold rates well below today’s levels (below 4%). This amount of homeowners returning to the market could definitely “unlock more supply,” as Krimmel said, but it could act as a bit of a catch-22 and “bring buyers back faster than listings recover.”
“The path to meaningful affordability relief depends on supply growing sustainably—not just demand returning,” he continued. “Lock-in removed a lot of discretionary buyers from the market, leaving a lot of people moving out of necessity who were less price sensitive. As those buyers eventually return and list their own home too, that will add some much needed liquidity to the market.”
There have also been significant regional differences observed across the country, especially when it comes to inventory recovery.
For the country as a whole, Realtor.com found that active listings have grown 142.1% since 2022, but regionally there are some gaps. The Northeast (+22.4%) and the Midwest (+67.1%) have struggled more to recover inventory, compared to much larger growth in the South (+213.7%) and West (+180%). The report specifically noted that some Northeast markets—namely Chicago, Hartford and New York City—actually have fewer active listings today than they did in 2022.
However, even with inventory recovery much more improved in the South and West, Realtor.com also found that this was not enough to see significant price decreases. Even though the increases in list price per square foot (PPSF) were less in the South (+12.1%) and West (+3.8%), they still saw increases, as did the Northeast (+17.5%) and Midwest (+18.8%).
This is similar to home price increases seen in the latest S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index, where the Northeast and Midwest cities of Chicago, Illinois (+5.3%), New York, New York (+5.1%); Cleveland, Ohio (+4%) and Minneapolis, Minnesota (+2.7%) all recorded the highest year-over-year gains.
The report also stated that only eight major metros saw declines in PPSF from 2022: San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; Denver, Colorado; San Jose, California; San Antonio, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Sacramento, California and Miami, Florida. Across the top 50 markets, PPSF is higher today in 42 of them.
This also tracks with Case-Shiller data, where year-over-year losses in home prices were led by Tampa, Florida (-2.9%); Denver, Colorado (-2.1%); Phoenix, Arizona (-1.5%); Dallas, Texas (-1.5%) and Miami, Florida (-1.5%).
Krimmel explained that the “laws of supply and demand still apply,” but that the “relationship has weakened.”
“Even a flood of listings and much higher financing costs weren’t enough to generate broad-based price relief,” he said.
Both sides
There is hope here for a better balance, as Case-Shiller data as well as data from the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s House Price Index have been tracking a definite deceleration in home price growth over recent months, which is expected to continue through 2026 as long as inflation and mortgage rates continue to see decreases.
Inventory growth also continues to be challenged in regards to a lack of new listings among active listings. Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Report for January saw active listings grow 10% year-over-year, but noted that the growth has slowed for nine straight months as seasonal trends and market momentum have reversed much of the progress made in 2025. New listings only grew 0.7% year-over-year.
The report found that while new listings made up about 85.9% of active listings back in 2022, this percentage has dropped significantly over the years to just 36.1% in 2026. The median number of days on the market has also increased from 59 to 78.
These shifts indicate that the “rise in active inventory has been driven less by a steady stream of new sellers entering the market and more by homes remaining listed for longer periods,” as Krimmel explained.
“Sellers are patiently testing price levels and waiting for buyers, rather than pricing aggressively to move quickly,” he continued.
This could remain a problem for a longer period through stabilization as mortgage rates remain elevated and the lock-in effect persists, however more competition in the market in the form of higher buyer demand could assuage this issue faster.
Delistings have also been a problem of note, as in 2025 there was a large amount of delistings that Realtor.com noted acted as an “emergency exit” for sellers.
Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Report for May saw delistings rise 47% year-over-year. The same report for November saw delistings rise 37.9% year-over-year, and had risen 45.5% year to date at that time.
The report stated that as of January 2026, delistings absorbed a 7% share of active listings and 32% of new listings. This trend has also vastly risen over the last five January’s dating back to 2022, when delistings were a 3.1% of active listings and a 8.4% share of new listings.
Krimmel said that these delistings reflect “not seller distress but privilege,” as homeowners of late “sit on historically high levels of home equity and a strong majority have low fixed mortgage rates.”
“That combination gives sellers flexibility and the luxury to list, delist, repeat until they get their price,” he continued. “As a result, rather than clearing, the market has a tendency to stall out.”
As supply increases and demand sees some decrease, delistings will most likely see a decrease as sellers will not have as much flexibility and buyers will have more negotiation power.
This is something Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant has spoken about previously. Sturtevant said that while there will be more sellers in 2026, they will have to “reset their price expectations.”
“Some markets will be moving toward buyer’s markets, while in other markets there will be more inventory,” she explained. “Either way, sellers are going to have to prepare for more flexibility in negotiation with buyers.”
