After an uncertain start to the spring housing season, conditions may be aligning in favor of buyers.
According to the Realtor.com® economic research team’s latest weekly market update, new listings are surging, total inventory is rising, and asking prices continue to retreat as mortgage rates ease.
For prospective homeowners who have been sidelined by years of rapid appreciation and tight supply, the shift may offer some much-needed breathing room.
New listing activity saw a dramatic 12.9% year-over-year jump for the week ending April 18, although that figure is somewhat inflated due to the Easter holiday falling on the same week last year. The surge offsets a 10% annual decline in new listings two weeks ago, which marked Easter this year.
“Looking through the holiday noise, the underlying trend points to a market where sellers are gradually reengaging, a welcome sign for buyers and a good omen for market liquidity moving forward this spring,” says Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel.
The total volume of homes for sale is also trending upward. Active inventory climbed 4.8% over the same period last year, a modest acceleration from early April.
Year to date, inventory levels are running 7% above 2025 figures. While supply is growing at a slower clip than the aggressive surge seen last year, the steady accumulation is providing shoppers with the variety they have lacked for years.
Interestingly, despite the increase in supply, homes are not languishing on the market. The average time on market stood at 51 days—just one day longer than this time last year.
“The gap between this year’s pace and last year’s is narrowing,” says Krimmel. “This signals that buyer demand is effectively absorbing the new supply as the spring season matures, rather than letting inventory pile up indefinitely.”
Prices continue to ease
Perhaps the most significant development for buyers is a continued softening in home prices, which coincides with a recent pullback in mortgage rates, improving affordability.
The median listing price fell 1.7% year over year, marking the 14th consecutive week of outright price declines. When looking at the broader trend, asking prices have now either fallen or remained flat for 26 consecutive weeks.
And this trend isn’t simply the result of smaller, cheaper homes entering the market. On a square-foot basis, prices dropped 2.3% year over year, the 13th straight week of declines exceeding 2%. That suggests underlying home values are falling.
Adding to the momentum, mortgage rates have begun to pull back from a sharp spike seen in early April. The combination of retreating rates and softening prices has created a more navigable environment for those entering the market’s busiest stretch.
As the spring season moves into high gear, the data paints a picture of a market where the advantage appears to be inching back toward the buyer.
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Keith Griffith is a journalist at Realtor.com covering housing policy, real estate news, and trends in the residential market. Previously, his work has appeared in Business Insider, The Street, Chicago Sun-Times, New York Post, and Daily Mail, among other publications. He has a master’s degree in economic and business journalism from Columbia University.
