According to the Federal Reserve, a surge in housing demand in 2020 and 2021 could only be satisfied with a 300% increase in housing supply. Despite a series of affordability challenges that have actively stifled homebuyer demand over the last year, just seven of the nation's 200 largest housing markets are back to pre-pandemic inventory levels, Fortune reports.
Those seven markets, including Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Kennewick-Richland, Wash.; Waco, Texas; Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas; Huntsville, Ala.; and Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, have seen a higher concentration of home building activity, in addition to major demand pullbacks in response to last year's mortgage rate shock.
It's no surprise that Austin—arguably the epicenter of the bifurcated pandemic housing correction—has seen a sharper tick up in inventory. The Pandemic Housing Boom was particularly fierce in the Austin market, where local prices soared 63% between March 2020 and May 2022. That home price jump, coupled with last year's mortgage rate shock, simply pushed Austin home prices too far beyond fundamentals, thus spurring a home price correction.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Markets
Metros Where Housing Prices Have Doubled in Less Than 10 Years
Historical data show it's taken less than 10 years for home prices to double in 68 of the country’s 100 largest cities
Affordability
The Disappearing Act That Is Middle-Income Housing
An expert weighs in on the diminishing supply of middle-income housing, which is particularly acute in California, and what to do about it
Market Data + Trends
A Look at Homeownership Rates Across the Nation
Data for homeownership rates in the 100 largest US cities show Port St. Lucie, Fla., in the top spot, while West Virginia is the state with the most homeowners
