Final Look at Local Housing Markets in May

Inventory Up, Sales Down, New Listings Picking Up

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

We are seeing a significant change in inventory, and maybe a pickup in new listings. So far, most of the increase in inventory has been due to softer demand - likely because of higher mortgage rates - but we need to keep an eye on new listings too.

Active Inventory in May

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

Inventory was up 10.2% in May. This is a significant change from earlier this year.

In the previous month, April, inventory in these markets was down 7.1% YoY, and in March, inventory was down 17.5%.

The NAR reported inventory was down 4.1% year-over-year (YoY) in May.  However, it appears the NAR includes some pending sales, and active inventory was actually up in May.

Notes for all tables:

1. New additions to table in BOLD.

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

3. Totals do not include Atlanta, Denver or Minneapolis (included in state totals).

   

New Listings in May

And here is a table for new listings in May. For these areas, new listings were up 4.7% YoY.

Last month, new listings in these markets were down 5.9% YoY. This could be a significant change, and the first sign of a pickup in new listings. If new listings increase, combined with less demand, we will see active inventory increase quickly.

Closed Sales in May

And a table of May sales. Sales in these areas were down 5.6% YoY, Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA). The NAR reported sales NSA in May (498,000) were 5.7% below sales in May 2021 (528,000).  So, this sample of local markets is similar to the NAR report.

The table doesn’t include California where sales were down 15.2% year-over-year.