2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in April

Inventory increasing, No Surge in New Listings

This is the second look at local markets in April. I’m tracking about 35 local housing markets in the US. Some of the 35 markets are states, and some are metropolitan areas. I’ll update these tables throughout the month as additional data is released.

We are seeing a significant change in inventory, but there is no surge in new listings. This means the increase in inventory is due to a decrease in demand, likely because of higher mortgage rates.

The following data is important, especially active inventory. On a national basis, we saw record low inventory levels over the Winter. Last year, inventory didn’t bottom seasonally until early April. This year inventory bottomed in February (normal seasonal timing). The next milestone will be when inventory is up year-over-year (YoY).

Houston Housing Market Comments

From the Houston Association of REALTORS®: Houston Home Sales Remain Strong in April as Prices Soar

With the exception of single-family home sales and pending sales, the monthly market metrics showed positive readings. Active listings (the total number of available properties) rose 5.2 percent. Sales of all property types were statistically unchanged, totaling 11,384, and total dollar volume for April jumped 14.5 percent to $4.5 billion.

Months of inventory edged up to a 1.4-months supply, which is just slightly above the lowest level of all time. Over the past year, its highest level was a 1.7-months supply from July through October of 2021.

Active Inventory in April

Here is a summary of active listings for these housing markets in April. Note: Inventory usually increases seasonally in April, so some month-over-month (MoM) increase is not surprising.

Inventory was up 17.9% in April MoM from March, and up 4.9% year-over-year (YoY). Eight of 15 markets were up YoY.

Active inventory in these markets were down 19% YoY in February, and down 4.8% YoY in March, so this is a significant change from February and March. This is another step towards a more balanced market, but inventory levels are still very low.

Notes for all tables:

1. New additions to table in BOLD.

2. Northwest (Seattle), North Texas (Dallas) and Santa Clara (San Jose), Jacksonville, Source: Northeast Florida Association of REALTORS®

3. Totals do not include Atlanta (included in state total).

   

   New Listings in April

   And here is a table for new listings in April. For these areas, new listings were down 4.5% YoY.

   Last month, new listings in these markets were unchanged YoY. We aren’t seeing a surge in new listings in these markets. For inventory to increase sharply, we’d need to see an increase in new listings AND a decrease in sales.

   

   Closed Sales in April

   And a table of April sales. Sales in these areas were down 8.6% YoY, Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA).

   

   Much more to come!