Our research team releases regular monthly housing trends reports. These reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In light of the developing COVID-19 situation affecting the industry, we want to give readers more timely weekly updates. You can look forward to a Weekly Housing Trends View near the end of each week. Here’s what the housing market looked like last week.
Weekly Housing Trends Key Findings
- Total inventory was down 19%. If new listing inflow remains constricted and delistings remain common, we could see overall inventory decline even more rapidly next week.
- Time on market was 11 days slower than last year, the biggest increase in time on market since 2013.
- New listings were down 39%. Declines persist but seem to have roughly stabilized nationwide.
Data Summary
| Week ending May 2 | Week ending April 25 | Week ending April 18 | First Two Weeks March |
| Total Listings | -19% YOY | -17% YOY | -15% YOY | -16% YOY |
| Time on Market | 11 days slower YOY | 9 days slower YOY | 6 days slower YOY | -4 days faster YOY |
| Median Listing Prices | 1.6% YOY | 1.6% YOY | 0.3% YOY | +4% YOY |
| New Listings | -39% YOY | -43% YOY | -42% YOY | +5% YOY |
Weekly Housing Trends View
- Total Active Listings: Countervailing forces continue to pull total listings in opposite directions, but so far the momentum limiting homes for sale is winning out. Total active listings are declining from a year ago at a faster rate than observed in previous weeks.
Weekly data show total active listings declined 19 percent compared to a year ago as the lack of sellers is currently outweighing the extra time homes spend on the market. Total active listings are pulled in two directions: 1) downward by the sharp drop in new listings, increase in delistings and decrease in the previous momentum of buyer appetite outpacing housing supply; and 2) upward by properties spending more time on the market as buyers who once avidly pounced on for-sale homes now hesitate to make major purchases in an uncertain economy. On balance, if new listing inflow remains constricted and delistings remain common, we could see overall inventory decline even more rapidly next week. - Time on market: Time on market continues to show the impact of fewer new home listings coming to market and properties sitting for-sale longer, as fewer buyers submit offers. Time on market rose by double-digit percent growth nationwide and in three-quarters of large metros. In the first two weeks in March (our pre-COVID-19 base), days on market were 4 days faster than last year on average. The trend in time on market began to slow in mid-March, but the indicator didn’t register an increase until April. Data for the week ending May 2 showed that time on market was 11 days or 19percent greater than last year, the biggest increase in time on market since 2013. This is further confirmation of for-sale homes sitting on the market longer, waiting for buyers. It’s visible in local data as well as the national figures, with 75 of the largest 99 metros showing similar double-digit percent increases in time on market from one year ago.
- New listings: Flattening the curve? Declines in newly listed for-sale homes persist but seem to have roughly stabilized nationwide with the size of declines remaining roughly the same in the last three weeks. Drops in newly listed homes are widespread, with all (98 of 98) large metros registering a smaller number of new listings than this time last year. Persistent declines still show that many sellers are reevaluating or postponing sales rather than wading into the current uncertain housing market.In the first two weeks in March (our pre-COVID-19 base), new listings were increasing 5 percent year-over-year on average. In the most recent three weeks ending April 18, and April 25, and May 2, the volume of newly listed properties decreased by 42 percent, 43 percent and 39 percent year-over-year, respectively. Near steady declines in newly listed properties in the last few weeks suggest we’ve yet to see supply turn back to normal. However, some improvement could be on the horizon as more than two thirds (70 of 98) of large metros are seeing smaller declines, including large markets like Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.
- Asking prices: Sellers look for minimal home price growth, and the mix of homes for-sale continues to be shifted toward more lower-priced homes. In the first two weeks of March (our pre-COVID-19 base), median listing prices were increasing 4.4% year-over-year on average. In the most recent three weeks ending April 18, and April 25, and May 2, the median U.S. listing price posted an increase of just 0.3, 1.6 and 1.6 percent year-over-year, respectively, registering some of the slowest pace of growth since 2013. This slight reacceleration suggests listing prices may regain momentum in the weeks to come as sellers regain confidence and buyers slowly resume activity. Locally, 65 of 99 metros saw asking prices increase over last year.
So far we’re seeing a smaller share of asking price reductions compared to this time last year in the U.S. and most (92 of 100) of top metro areas, suggesting that while sellers aren’t pushing asking prices, they aren’t quick to reduce them. Additionally, high-cost areas such as the northeast have seen some strong seller reactions–de-listings and fewer new listings–which has shifted the distribution of homes for sale nationwide toward a lower price point.
Post-COVID Trends in Mortgage-Financed Primary Home Purchases
- As dissected by my colleague, Sabrina Speianu, in the first month post-COVID-19, mortgage data** shows little change in trends by age group despite the major shifts in the housing market. Primary home purchases by Gen Z and Millennials are on the rise while Gen X, Boomers, and the Silent Generation are purchasing a smaller share of homes with mortgages. Similar trends are observed when looking at the generational shares of mortgage dollar volume.
- Home purchase prices are rising the most for younger generations with Millennials seeing a 9 percent increase and Gen Z seeing purchase prices rise 13 percent. For the first-time, the median purchase price for Millennials ($280,800) is approximately equal to that of Baby Boomers ($282,000).
- Perhaps as a result of low mortgage rates which may have caused younger buyers to pursue homes with higher purchase prices, average down payments have slid for Millennial and Gen-Z buyers in 2020, down to 7.8 percent for Millennials. Along with higher purchase prices and lower down payments, loan amounts are rising fastest for younger borrowers, with Gen Z seeing an 11 percent increase in median loan amount and Millennials seeing a nearly 15 percent increase.
- Shares of home purchasing by generation show warmer areas gaining purchase share, especially among Boomers and Gen-Xers, and Charlotte, Denver, and Phoenix metro areas saw gains across generations.
- Dense metros in the Northeast and Midwest, especially New York and Detroit that have been hard-hit by COVID, saw decreasing shares of home buyers across generations.
| Metro Areas Seeing Gains in Home Purchase Shares, by Generation |
| Baby Boomers | Gen X | Millennials |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY |
| Metro Areas Seeing Declines in Home Purchase Shares, by Generation |
| Baby Boomers | Gen X | Millennials |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | St. Louis, MO-IL | Los-Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | Kansas City, MO-KS |
*Some data points for Los Angeles and Virginia Beach have been excluded due to data unavailability.
** Note: This report does not have a view of changes in generational trends among the cash-buying segment of home purchasers since its primary data source is loan origination data.
You can download weekly housing market data from our data page.