Signs Pointing Up In Monthly Housing Report

All signs seem to be pointing up for the U.S. housing market.

Realtor.com’s May Monthly Housing Trends report released Thursday found that the market likely reached its low point in mid-April – with signs of recovery beginning late in the month followed by a stronger May.

The report found:

  • The national median listing price hit a new all-time high of $330,000 in May, despite rising just 1.6 percent year-over-year.
  • The median list price began the month up 1.4 percent and strengthened throughout the month, increasing 3.1 percent during the last week of May.
  • New listings were down 29.1 percent the week ending May 9 but recovered to down 22.9 percent by the week of May 30.
  • While still well-below last year’s levels, the rate of decline in newly listed properties has improved dramatically from a drop of 44.1 percent year-over-year in April to down 29.4 percent in May. 
  • Homes were on the market 15 days longer than this time last year, a sign of ongoing COVID-related challenges.

“May’s home price data demonstrate the underlying strength of the U.S. housing market despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said. “The fact that home prices are at an all-time high shows that the momentum the market had prior to the pandemic has helped to keep buyer and seller expectations stable. Ongoing inventory shortages, that continue to worsen, also push home prices higher even while homes sell more slowly.”

Hale added, “As a sense of normalcy returns, we expect to see a shortened, but strong summer home selling season, as long as seller confidence continues to improve and more homes are listed for sale.”