Insights Into Inventory Levels and Housing Market Dynamics
Homebuyers once again have the upper hand as housing inventory continues to improve across the U.S. According to the ResiClub blog, which analysed data from online real estate platform Realtor.com, active home listings in the U.S. increased by 30.6% from April 2024 to April 2025. However, national inventory is still 15.6% lower than it was pre-pandemic in April 2019.
What's influencing home prices?
One way to assess home price momentum is to look at active listings and months of supply data. If active listings rapidly increase as homes stay on the market for longer, that can indicate softening pricing or weakness in a particular market, while a rapid drop in active listings may suggest that a housing market is heating up.
ResiClub analysis finds that: "Generally speaking, local housing markets where active inventory has returned to pre-pandemic levels have experienced softer home price growth (or outright price declines) over the past 30 months. Conversely, local housing markets where active inventory remains far below pre-pandemic levels have, generally speaking, experienced stronger home price growth over the past 30 months."
What's the outlook for housing inventory in 2025?
According to ResiClub, although U.S. housing inventory in April remained 15.6% below April 2019 levels, it's still anticipated that national active inventory will approach pre-pandemic levels during the second half of 2025.
The fact that national active listings rose by 30.6% between last April and April this year would indicate that homebuyers have gained a bit of leverage.
Looking at regional markets for both new homes for sale and resale markets ... ResiClub notes that large parts of the Midwest and Northeast are still showing varying levels of tightness in terms of inventory. The upshot: Home sellers in those areas can expect to have the upper hand this spring buying season.
Meanwhile, parts of the Gulf region have seen active inventory for sale either near or surpass 2019 levels as those markets softened post-pandemic. Exacerbating that softening trend is the abundance of new-home supply in the Sun Belt, which has meant home builders are often willing to lower prices or offer incentives to maintain new-home sales in those areas, resulting in a cooling effect on the resale market there.
Other recent housing inventory news
- 42 Housing Markets With Falling Inventory: Home inventory nationwide is 28.5% higher than levels seen in March 2019 prior to the pandemic housing boom, but some markets remain tight
- Active Inventory Improves Across the US: March data show that seven states have seen inventory return to pre-pandemic levels, but nationwide, housing inventory is still 20% below 2019 levels.
- Existing-Home Sales Dip in March: Month-over-month, existing-home sales fell by nearly 6%