After nearly three years of brutal scarcity, the number of homes for sale in the U.S. is climbing back toward something that resembles normal.
Realtor.com's latest monthly report shows active listings up roughly 20% from a year ago, with more than a million homes on the market nationwide.
That's the highest count since 2020, and it's giving buyers their best selection in years.
But here's the catch that's frustrating shoppers from Phoenix to Atlanta: the homes sitting on the market longest tend to be the ones nobody wants.
Inventory is growing fastest at the top of the price ladder and in markets that got overheated during the pandemic.
Entry-level homes under $300,000 are still disappearing in days, often with multiple offers. "More inventory doesn't automatically mean more affordable inventory," said one Dallas-area agent who asked not to be named.
Sellers of well-priced starter homes still hold most of the leverage, while sellers of $700,000-plus properties are the ones cutting prices and offering concessions.
Price reductions are running above pre-pandemic norms, but they're concentrated in the $500,000-plus bracket.
Meanwhile, the median asking price for a starter home has climbed faster than wages in most metros.
Buyers who waited for "more inventory" are discovering that selection and affordability are two different things.
Mortgage rates add another layer of confusion.
With the 30-year fixed hovering in the mid-6% range, a household earning the median income can afford roughly 20% less house than it could when rates were near 3%.
That math hasn't changed just because more "For Sale" signs are popping up.
For buyers, the practical playbook looks like this.
Get pre-approved before you shop so sellers take your offer seriously.
Look at days-on-market data, not just listing counts, because stale listings often signal motivated sellers.
And don't sleep on new construction — builders are still buying down rates and offering closing-cost credits to move spec homes.
If your home has been listed for more than 30 days without an offer, the market is telling you something your Zestimate won't.
Overpricing in a market with rising inventory is a slow bleed, and the first two weeks of a listing still matter more than any other stretch.
More housing supply eventually cools rent growth, but the effect lags by a year or more, and many markets are still absorbing the wave of apartment completions from 2023 and 2024.
The takeaway: this is a better market than 2022, but it isn't a buyer's market yet.
It's a market that rewards preparation and punishes wishful thinking on both sides of the deal.
Final Thoughts
If you've been waiting on the sidelines, run your own numbers instead of trusting headlines — the inventory thaw is real, but so is the affordability squeeze.