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April 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report

• The number of homes actively for sale was notably higher compared with last year, growing by 30.4%, a sixth straight month of growth.
• The total number of unsold homes, including homes that are under contract, increased by 20.0% compared with last year.
• Home sellers were more active this April, with 12.2% more homes newly listed on the market compared with last year. 
• The median price of homes for sale this April remained stable compared to last year, at $430,000.
• Homes spent 47 days on the market, which is one day more than last year but 7 days shorter than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Realtor.com ® April housing data , the small but meaningful affordability gains seen since the start of the year were eclipsed by a renewed rise in mortgage rates, fueled by stronger-than-expected inflation and employment readings in March and April. 

While the nation’s median list price did not increase compared with last year due to an influx of more affordable and smaller homes, the typical home’s price per square foot continued to grow, and, driven by rising rates, the cost to purchase a home once again outpaced wage growth after just a one-month reprieve in March .

Meanwhile, sellers continued to list homes at a greater rate than last year. This has led to a promising increase in more affordable homes for sale, especially in the South. In response, the time a typical home spends on the market continues to be below pre-pandemic levels—but the gap is shrinking. Sellers are also continuing to adjust to market conditions, with price reductions remaining above the previous year’s levels. 

Home listing availability continues to improve in April

There were 30.4% more homes actively for sale on a typical day in April compared with the same time in 2023, marking the sixth consecutive month of annual inventory growth.

For the first four months of this year, the inventory of homes actively for sale was at its highest level since 2020. However, while inventory this April is much improved compared with the previous three years, it is still down 35.9% compared with typical 2017 to 2019 levels. This is a slight improvement compared with last month’s 37.9% gap, as inventory continues to slowly improve toward normalcy.

In April, as in the previous two months , the growth in homes particularly priced in the $200,000 to $350,000 range outpaced all other price categories, as home inventory in this range grew by 41.0% compared with last year, surpassing even last month’s high 30.5% growth rate. As we show in the next section, this increase is primarily fueled by a greater availability of smaller and more affordable homes in the South.

The total number of homes for sale, including homes that were under contract but not yet sold, increased by 20.0% compared with last year, growing on an annual basis for the fifth month in a row after ending a seven-month streak of annual total listing declines. 

The number of homes under contract but not yet sold (pending listings) increased by 6.3%, which is similar to last month’s 6.2% growth rate. After reports of unexpectedly persistent inflation , mortgage rates increased in April on expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely push back its first cut to the primary policy rate, which was originally expected in June of this year.

Next month, we may see the growth in pending listings slow, and as pending home sales are an early indicator of the direction of existing-home sales, it is possible that sales may decelerate further in April and May, after dipping 4.3% in March .

However, providing a boost to overall inventory, which has been a drag on sales the past couple of years, sellers turned out in higher numbers this April as newly listed homes were 12.2% above last year’s levels, matching last month’s growth rate. This marked the sixth month of increasing listing activity after a 17-month streak of declines. However, sellers, of whom roughly three-quarters plan to also purchase a home , have been fairly rate-sensitive over this past year.

If mortgage rates remain elevated over the next few months, the housing market may see a return to the holding pattern of scarce inventory, as we’ve seen over the past few years. For buyers, that could mean fewer opportunities for finding their ideal home as summer approaches. 

Regional and metro area inventory trends

The South leads the way in more affordable inventory growth

The South has been largely driving the increase in availability of homes in the $200,000 to $350,000 price range, and the increase in availability of homes overall. Home listings located in the South made up more than half (56.6%) of available inventory in April 2024, up from 52.0% last year and 47.7% in April 2019.

In April, all four regions saw active inventory grow over the previous year. The South saw listings grow by 43.0%, while inventory grew by 27.4% in the West, 17.6% in the Midwest, and only 4.0% in the Northeast.

The inventory of homes for sale increased in 45 of the 50 largest metros compared with last year. In seven large metros, inventory was above pre-pandemic levels. Metros that saw the most inventory growth included Tampa (+69.5%), Orlando (+64.2%), and Jacksonville (+59.1%). In large Florida metros, the inventory growth was primarily driven by an increase in the availability of attached homes (condos, townhomes, or row homes). 

Despite higher inventory growth compared with last year, most metros still had a lower level of inventory compared with pre-pandemic years. Among the 50 largest metro areas, only seven saw higher levels of inventory in April compared with typical 2017 to 2019 levels. However, this is up from only four metros last month. The top metros that saw inventory surpass pre-pandemic levels were Austin (+28.9%), San Antonio (+27.4%), and Denver (+15.2%).

The South saw newly listed homes increase the most compared with last year

Newly listed home inventory increased the most in the South, by 19.7%, whereas new inventory grew by 18.4% in the West, 7.5% in the Midwest, and 2.9% in the Northeast.

In April, 48 of the 50 largest metros saw new listings increase over the previous year, but only three saw more newly listed homes than the typical April from 2017 to 2019. The metros that saw the largest growth in newly listed homes included Seattle (+46.5%), San Jose (+40.6%), and Austin (+36.1%), while Detroit (-3.8%) and Cincinnati (-1.6%) saw new listings decline. Only Austin (+18.8%), San Antonio (+2.6%), and Jacksonville (+1.6%) saw more new listings enter the market this April compared with typical pre-pandemic levels.

Homes are spending slightly more time on the market compared with last year 

The typical home spent 47 days on the market this April, which is 1 day more than the same time last year and a week less than the average April from 2017 to 2019. April was the first month since September 2023 to see homes spend more time on the market than the previous year.

Meanwhile, the gap between time on the market this year and typical pre-pandemic levels, while still present, is shrinking as inventory grows. The gap shrank from 12 days last month to just seven days this month.

Regional and metro area time on the market trends

This month, not all regions saw the inventory of homes for sale spend less time on the market than last year. In the South, where the growth in home inventory has been the largest, the typical home spent two days more on the market in April compared with last year. However, in the Midwest, Northeast, and West, homes are still spending two days less on the market than last April.

While all regions were still seeing time on the market below pre-pandemic levels, in the West, homes are spending only one day less on the market compared with the typical April from 2017 to 2019. Time on the market was nine days less than pre-pandemic levels in the South, 11 days less in the Midwest, and 15 days less in the Northeast.

Meanwhile, time on the market decreased compared with last year in 26 of the 50 largest metro areas this April, down from 41 markets last month. It decreased the most in Kansas City (-15 days), Las Vegas (-11 days), and Raleigh (-10 days). Time on the market increased compared with last year in 21 of the 50 largest metros, including Hartford (+9 days), Denver (+8 days), Pittsburgh, and Phoenix (+5 days each). Ten predominantly Western markets saw homes spend more time on the market than typical 2017 to 2019 pre-pandemic timing, including Phoenix (+11 days), Seattle (+8 days), Denver, and Portland (+7 days each).

The median list price remained stable compared with last April, but the price per square foot continues to rise

The national median list price continued to increase seasonally, to $430,000 in April compared with $424,900 in March, and the median list price remained stable compared with the same time last year, when it was also $430,000. 

Compared with last year, sellers are inching back to list more small and affordable homes, particularly in the South, and this change in the mix of available homes has kept the nation’s median list price stable.

While the median list price remained relatively unchanged, on an adjusted per-square-foot basis, the median list price grew by 3.8%, as homes continue to retain their value despite increased inventory compared with last year.

Meanwhile, higher mortgage rates compared with last April still increased the monthly cost of financing 80% of the typical home by roughly $148 (6.9%) compared with a year ago. This increased the required household income to purchase the median-priced home by $5,900, to $116,000, after also accounting for the cost of tax and insurance. 

For the past several months, growth in the monthly cost to purchase a home was slowing. However, the renewed mortgage rate growth seen in April has once again fueled an increase in the growth rate of the cost to purchase a home (+6.9% year over year). In March, average hourly earnings for private employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grew by 4.1% annually. However, this increase is no longer outpacing the increase in the cost to purchase a home as it did last month .

While the percentage of homes with price reductions increased from 12.3% in April of last year to 15.5% this year, the overall share of inventory is no longer historically high , as the share dipped back below pre-pandemic levels seen in 2017 and 2018 (15.8%, respectively).

Last month we noted that sellers were adjusting to an increase in more competitive home listings . Indeed, a Realtor.com survey also showed that sellers have more realistic market expectations this year , with fewer potential sellers expecting a bidding war or sale within a week or sale above their asking price compared with last year. Yet while sellers continue to adjust expectations and are cutting prices at a greater rate than last year, when inventory levels were historically low, historical data shows that their behavior in adjusting prices is not unusual for pre-pandemic norms.

Regional and metro area price trends

In April, listing prices remained stable on a year-over-year basis in the South (-0.1%), where competitive home inventory has grown the most, but prices continued to increase in the Northeast (+5.6%), Midwest (+1.9%), and West (+1.9%) compared with the same time last year. On an adjusted per-square-foot basis, prices in all regions grew similarly, by 3.9% to 5.2%, as soft median list price growth in the South was driven by a larger inventory of affordable, smaller homes available for sale.

The median list price in Buffalo (+14.0%), Cleveland (+13.4%), and Rochester (+11.4%) saw the biggest increases among large metros. Meanwhile, 21 metros saw their median list price decline compared with last year, up from 18 last month. The metros included Miami (-10.7%), San Francisco (-10.7%), and Kansas City (-8.3%). However, on a price-per-square-foot basis, listing prices in Miami, San Francisco, and Kansas City declined only by 6.6%, 2.8%, and 4.3%, respectively, as the mix of listing inventory consisted of smaller homes relative to the previous year.

Notably, 34 of the 50 largest metro areas required a household income of more than $100,000 to afford the median-priced home at current interest rates, and six even required a household income of more than $200,000. Midwestern metros were commonly among the 16 remaining metro areas that required a household income of less than $100,000. The most affordable by this measure were Pittsburgh ($67,000), Detroit ($69,000), and Cleveland ($71,000). The most expensive metros were predominantly in the West, including San Jose ($361,000), Los Angeles ($298,000), and San Diego ($259,000).

It’s worth noting that recent price and interest rate trends are affecting the income required to buy a home differently. In six markets, the median home listing price has fallen enough over the past year to offset rising mortgage rates and the income needed to buy a home has dropped. These markets were Miami (-6.2% required income year over year), San Francisco (-5.5%), Kansas City (-3.6%), Denver (-2.9%), Oklahoma City (-2.2%), and Seattle (-0.6%). In 15 markets, the median list price has declined, but rising mortgage rates have pushed required incomes higher despite lower home prices. These markets included San Jose (+1.1% required income year over year), Raleigh (+2.7%), and Cincinnati (+2.7%). Yet in the majority of large metro areas, home prices and mortgage rates have combined to push required incomes higher, and in 14 of the 50 largest metros, the required income grew by double digits compared with last year. The top three metros that saw the required income increase the most were Buffalo (+20.0%), Cleveland (+19.3%), and Pittsburgh (+17.1%).

The share of price reductions was up compared with last year in the South (+4.3 percentage points), West (+2.5 percentage points), Midwest (+2.3 percentage points), and Northeast (+0.8 percentage points). Forty-four of the 50 largest metros saw the share of price reductions increase compared with last April, up from 34 in March. Portland saw the greatest increase (+9.7 percentage points), followed by Tampa (+8.8 percentage points) and Jacksonville (+7.3 percentage points). 

April 2024 Regional Statistics

April 2024 regional statistics vs. pre-pandemic 2017–19, april 2024 housing overview of the 50 largest metros  .

* The required income to purchase a home, assuming an affordability price-to-income ratio of 30%, a 20% down payment, a 30-year term, a 30-year fixed mortgage rate, and local tax and insurance rates

Methodology

Realtor.com housing data as of April 2024. Listings include the active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com; new construction is excluded unless listed on an MLS that provides listing data to Realtor.com. Realtor.com data history goes back to July 2016. The 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB-202003). 

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