Big gaming

Our research team releases monthly housing trends reports These regular reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In addition, we continue to give readers more timely weekly updates, an effort that began in response to the rapid changes in the economy and housing. Generally, you can look forward to a and the latest weekly housing data on Thursdays and weekly video updates from our economists. Here鈥檚 what the housing market looked like over the past week.

What this week’s data means:

This week’s housing market continued recent trends, with home prices and time on market near year ago levels, and both fresh and overall inventory climbing annually. Prices were the closest they have been to year-ago levels since November, narrowing the gap for the third week in a row. Hopeful sellers can take advantage of the fast-approaching Best Time to Sell, which is the week of April 13, and get their home ready to list. The Best Week offers higher-than-average home prices and buyer demand, met with lower-than-average competition from other sellers.

As discussed in the recent Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends report, the recent rounds of federal layoffs have the potential to impact metro areas with the highest rates of federal employment. Most of the top five metros have not seen any noticeable shifts from recent trends yet. However, accelerating inventory growth suggests that a trend may be emerging in the D.C. area. The impact of layoffs will likely trickle in over the coming weeks and months as recently-unemployed workers find new jobs in new cities, or potentially look for more affordable housing options if their current mortgage becomes unaffordable.

Key national findings:

• The median list price fell by 0.2% year-over-year
  This marks the 41st consecutive week that the national median home list price has either remained steady or declined compared to the same week last year. While the price drop remains moderate, it signals a continuation of the trend toward a more balanced market. Controlling for the size of home, the median list price per square foot increased by 1.2% annually, suggesting there are more smaller homes on the market compared to last year. The share of homes with a price reduction increased by 0.8% this week, suggesting more sellers are adjusting prices to attract buyers.
• New listings鈥攁 measure of sellers putting homes up for sale鈥攊ncreased 8.3%
  Newly listed inventory grew for the ninth consecutive week, signaling that sellers are gaining confidence in listing their homes despite persistently high mortgage rates. This week鈥檚 annual growth picked up compared to last week鈥檚 rather tepid measure. More generally, new listings tend to tick higher in the spring and into the summer, and sellers who can get out ahead of the competition may find more buyers during the Best Week to Sell.
• Active inventory increased, with for-sale homes 27.8% above year-ago levels
  The number of homes for sale has now been higher than the previous year for 70 consecutive weeks. This continued rise in active inventory is in part due to less active buyers. With more choices available, buyers can afford to be more selective, putting pressure on sellers to price competitively.
• Homes spent 4 days more on the market compared with this time last year
  Homes are taking longer to sell than the previous year, a trend that has persisted for 46 consecutive weeks. A slower market pace is good for buyers, as it allows for time to deliberate between the numerous for-sale options on the market.

National data summary:

Metro-level findings :

The top five metros in terms of Federal employment share are Washington D.C., Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City, Baltimore and San Diego. A dramatic uptick in unemployment can have noticeable consequences for the housing market. Overall, higher unemployment would lead to more for-sale inventory and an uptick in new listing inventory as homeowners increasingly list their homes for sale, and homebuyers are harder to come by. Time on market would extend as ample inventory leads to longer sale timelines, especially with a softening labor market. Eventually, the impact would lead to falling home prices as sellers price lower to compete with other sellers and attract buyer attention.聽

This Week:

Data suggest that the recent federal lay-offs have not yet made their way to the housing market in most of the country鈥檚 most federally-employed metros. However, the Washington D.C. area is starting to show signs of weakening, as seen in the rather quick pick-up in for-sale inventory.聽

• Median listing price trends persisted this week

Prices continued to climb annually in Baltimore, but were relatively flat, or slightly down, in the rest of the markets. No markets showed significant deviation from the recent trend.

• Active listings pick up again in Washington D.C.

While the other markets saw inventory trends remain relatively steady week-over-week, Washington D.C. saw a third straight week of accelerating inventory growth compared to last year. Taking a step back, inventory growth in D.C. hovered between 20% and 30% from June to December 2024. Growth started to accelerate in January (+35.9% YY) and February (+41.0% YY), and has continued into March, landing at 56.2% more for-sale listings last week compared to the corresponding week one year ago.聽

New inventory has also picked up in recent weeks in D.C., but by less than overall inventory, suggesting that the increase in for-sale inventory is likely attributable to both slowing buyer activity and an uptick in sellers. New listings climbed 24.0% year-over-year this week, contributing to the increase in for-sale inventory and dropping median days on market.聽

• Time on market picked up in D.C. and Baltimore, but slowed in the other markets, continuing recent trends.

Even as inventory levels build in the most federally-employed markets, time on market is either just faster or just slower than year-ago levels. Time on market has picked up most in D.C. and has slowed the most in Virginia Beach, but annual trends have not deviated significantly from weeks past.