May 2019 Data: Homes Becoming More Affordable Despite Rising Prices

  • The May U.S. median listing price was $315,000, up 6.0 percent year-over-year. However, the rate of price growth is now the slowest on record since April 2015.
  • Nationally, homes sold in 53 days in May, one day more quickly than last year.
  • National inventory grew 2.9 percent year-over-year.

Realtor.com®’s May data shows the U.S. housing market is slowly adjusting to new normals. Inventory continues to increase but at a slower rate and the time properties spend on the market is similar to last May. The nation’s median listing price also continued to increase but at a slower rate, testing the limits of what the market will bear in this new environment.

Housing inventory continues to increase at the national level but at a decelerating pace. The national inventory grew by 2.9 percent year-over-year in May, amounting to approximately 41,000 additional listings. This is a deceleration compared to last month when the yearly national growth rate was 4.4 percent. Part of this deceleration of inventory growth is attributed to fewer newly listed homes, and the count of new listings has decreased by 0.8 percent compared to last year.

The median age of properties on realtor.com in May reached 53 days, spending one day less on the market than May of last year and, following the expected seasonal trend, 4 days less than April.

The nationwide median home list price has reached $315,000, 6.0 percent higher than a year ago, and a new record high. However, the rate of increase is slower than last May, when the median list price grew by 8.2 percent, and is the slowest rate of growth since April 2015. Additionally, median listing price growth continues to be driven by increases in the inventory of more expensive homes.  

In May, the number of homes with price reductions increased by 10.2 percent compared to the previous year. This had a slight impact on the share of homes which have had their price cut, which increased to 17.8 percent in May compared to 16.4 percent last year. This is a slower rate of price cut increases than the 2 to 3 percent share increases seen from September of last year to January of this year, indicating that while this season’s slow down continues, it is at a slower pace than this past winter.

Affordability in the Nation’s Largest Markets is Increasing

The listing inventory increases that have taken place within the past 8 months, in addition to slowing median listing price growth, decreasing interest rates, and rising incomes, means that more buyers are finding more inventory available to them at their desired price point. In April, 74 out of the nation’s 100 largest metros became more affordable compared to last year, according to our REALTORS Affordability Distribution Curve and Score Report. This is an acceleration from the first quarter when only 44 metros increased in affordability over the year.

The 10 markets which saw affordability increase the most saw rising incomes, falling listing prices, and an increase in the inventory of available homes for sale. Incomes in these markets grew an estimated 6.0 percent over the past year on average, compared to an average of 3.5 percent for the largest 100 metros. They also saw April median listing prices decrease by 2.0 percent on average, compared to a 4.4 percent gain in the largest 100 markets. Lastly, they saw inventory increase by 26.2 percent on average, compared to a gain of 6.5 percent for the largest 100 markets.

However, not all buyers will feel the increase in affordability in these metros equally. As we noted in April, the number of homes across the country priced above $750,000 grew 11 percent over last year, while the number of homes $200,000 and under declined by 8 percent, meaning households in the low and mid-income tiers looking for more affordable homes are still facing tight inventory conditions.  This trend sometimes holds at the market level as well. For example, as noted in the first quarter report, the improvement in affordability in the San Jose market was driven mostly by improvements in what the 80th and 90th percentile of income earners can afford to buy. By contrast, in Des Moines, most of the improvement in affordability was driven by the middle of the curve- households from the 40th to the 60th percentile of income.

Largest 100 Metros, Ranked by Increase in Affordability

Metro April Affordability Score YoY Affordability Score May Median Listing Price May Median Days on Market
San Jose-Sunnyvale et al, CA 0.50 0.11 $1,167,444 28
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 0.94 0.11 $288,000 59
San Francisco-Oakland et al, CA 0.54 0.09 $954,500 28
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 0.82 0.08 $231,500 64
Atlanta-Sandy Springs et al, GA 0.80 0.07 $335,000 47
Portland-Vancouver et al, OR-WA 0.59 0.07 $474,975 34
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 0.69 0.07 $299,900 91
Austin-Round Rock, TX 0.70 0.07 $369,995 46
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 0.68 0.06 $350,000 43
Charlotte-Concord et al, NC-SC 0.75 0.06 $329,450 49
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 0.56 0.06 $754,500 60
Raleigh, NC 0.87 0.06 $349,950 45
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 0.69 0.06 $315,000 57
Madison, WI 0.86 0.06 $339,500 40
Jackson, MS 0.86 0.06 $259,000 71
Tampa-St. Petersburg et al, FL 0.77 0.05 $279,950 58
Palm Bay-Melbourne et al, FL 0.79 0.05 $270,018 61
Jacksonville, FL 0.74 0.05 $315,000 60
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 0.91 0.05 $279,900 45
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 0.80 0.05 $289,900 31
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 0.68 0.05 $511,950 29
Colorado Springs, CO 0.62 0.05 $379,900 30
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 0.90 0.05 $223,225 60
Salt Lake City, UT 0.70 0.05 $436,250 31
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 0.70 0.05 $350,000 46
Nashville-Davidson et al, TN 0.72 0.05 $355,495 37
Washington et al, DC-VA-MD-WV 0.87 0.04 $462,250 34
Stockton-Lodi, CA 0.62 0.04 $425,475 35
St. Louis, MO-IL 1.08 0.04 $229,188 52
Riverside et al, CA 0.62 0.04 $410,450 50
New Haven-Milford, CT 0.90 0.04 $279,900 50
Minneapolis et al, MN-WI 0.81 0.04 $360,000 34
Miami-Fort Lauderdale et al, FL 0.62 0.04 $399,000 88
Deltona-Daytona Beach et al, FL 0.62 0.04 $294,500 73
Allentown-Bethlehem et al, PA-NJ 1.00 0.04 $222,450 54
Los Angeles-Long Beach et al, CA 0.37 0.04 $769,500 42
Springfield, MA 0.83 0.04 $279,000 37
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 0.84 0.04 $269,000 50
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 0.97 0.04 $258,250 36
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 0.39 0.03 $699,925 31
North Port-Sarasota et al, FL 0.66 0.03 $359,900 86
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 1.07 0.03 $219,900 45
Boise City, ID 0.64 0.03 $369,900 30
Sacramento–Roseville et al, CA 0.57 0.03 $493,725 35
Portland-South Portland, ME 0.70 0.03 $379,450 47
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 0.96 0.03 $334,500 43
Tucson, AZ 0.67 0.02 $298,250 52
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 0.68 0.02 $295,000 49
New York-Newark et al, NY-NJ-PA 0.54 0.02 $564,500 52
Little Rock et al, AR 1.03 0.02 $194,900 53
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 0.72 0.02 $319,900 43
Knoxville, TN 0.77 0.02 $289,900 56
Hartford-West Hartford et al, CT 0.98 0.02 $279,900 46
Fresno, CA 0.66 0.02 $322,500 42
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 0.68 0.02 $361,250 43
Columbia, SC 0.98 0.02 $235,000 53
Chicago et al, IL-IN-WI 0.86 0.02 $311,386 42
Albuquerque, NM 0.81 0.02 $269,995 46
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 0.69 0.02 $329,995 31
Richmond, VA 0.83 0.02 $332,053 46
Wichita, KS 0.96 0.01 $212,450 44
Virginia Beach et al, VA-NC 0.85 0.01 $301,000 45
Urban Honolulu, HI 0.52 0.01 $694,900 56
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 0.51 0.01 $627,500 30
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 0.64 0.01 $369,900 44
Pittsburgh, PA 1.05 0.01 $197,250 59
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 0.43 0.01 $689,475 40
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 1.01 0.01 $223,500 44
Columbus, OH 0.95 0.01 $264,900 35
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 0.89 0.01 $289,900 43
Buffalo-Cheektowaga et al, NY 0.92 0.01 $220,000 36
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 0.62 0.01 $594,250 30
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 0.84 0.01 $299,900 64
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 0.69 0.01 $427,450 67
Worcester, MA-CT 0.85 0 $349,000 36
Toledo, OH 1.13 0 $166,950 43
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 0.81 0 $297,630 29
Milwaukee-Waukesha et al, WI 0.86 0 $279,900 36
Houston-The Woodlands et al, TX 0.70 0 $324,945 51
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 1.03 0 $190,606 49
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 0.68 -0.01 $196,000 83
Baton Rouge, LA 0.93 -0.01 $249,900 70
Youngstown-Warren et al, OH-PA 1.21 -0.01 $124,900 64
Dayton, OH 1.15 -0.01 $157,745 38
Akron, OH 1.11 -0.02 $174,900 40
Philadelphia et al, PA-NJ-DE-MD 0.92 -0.02 $288,950 46
Winston-Salem, NC 0.85 -0.02 $245,000 45
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre et al, PA 1.06 -0.02 $162,400 67
Oklahoma City, OK 0.87 -0.02 $256,500 43
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 0.74 -0.02 $292,500 60
Louisville et al, KY-IN 0.91 -0.02 $277,450 43
Greensboro-High Point, NC 0.85 -0.02 $245,900 45
Chattanooga, TN-GA 0.77 -0.03 $289,700 51
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 0.96 -0.03 $249,000 50
Rochester, NY 0.93 -0.04 $222,450 31
Bakersfield, CA 0.79 -0.04 $260,000 43
Syracuse, NY 1.04 -0.04 $184,950 51
Kansas City, MO-KS 0.88 -0.04 $302,500 40
Tulsa, OK 0.89 -0.07 $239,500 50
El Paso, TX 0.79 -0.09 $191,475 68

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