Key Details:
- Realtor.com’s May 2025 Monthly Housing Trends Report shows active U.S. home listings surpassed 1 million for the first time since Winter 2019, up 31.5% year-over-year but still 12.3% below May 2019 levels.
- Homes spent a median of 51 days on market, while 19.1% of listings saw price reductions, the highest May share since at least 2016.
- Inventory recovery remains concentrated in the South and West, with 22 major metros returning to pre-pandemic norms.
For the first time since the winter of 2019, U.S. housing inventory has crossed the one million mark.
According to Realtor.com’s May 2025 Monthly Housing Trends Report, active listings jumped to 1,036,101 homes, marking a 31.5% increase year-over-year and an 8% gain from April.
But while that sounds like a major win for housing supply, the recovery is anything but uniform. In fact, the gap between over-supplied and under-supplied markets is only getting wider.
All the more reason to know what you and your clients are dealing with on the ground.
National Inventory Is Up, But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Norms
Even with the 1 million milestone, active listings remain 12.3% below May 2019 levels. New listings also fell 1.4% month-over-month and are still down more than 20% from five years ago.
Other national metrics from May 2025:
- Median listing price: $440,000—Up 2.0% month-over-month and 0.1% year-over-year
- Median days on market: 51—6 days longer than last year
- Price reductions: 19.1% of listings—The highest share for any May since at least 2016
- Median list price per square foot: $234—Up 0.5% from April and 0.6% year-over-year
Regional Recovery Splits the Map
Realtor.com’s data shows a sharp divide between regions. All 50 of the largest U.S. metros saw annual inventory gains, but only 22 have fully rebounded to their 2017–2019 inventory norms. And every single one of those is in the South or West.
The top 10 markets leading the inventory comeback:
- Denver, CO: 100.0%
- Austin, TX: 69.0%
- Seattle, WA: 60.9%
- San Antonio, TX: 58.3%
- Dallas, TX: 55.5%
- San Francisco, CA: 53.5%
- Tampa, FL: 45.3%
- Nashville, TN: 44.4%
- Orlando, FL: 44.2%
- San Jose, CA: 33.1%
Meanwhile, metros like Hartford, CT (-77.7%), Chicago, IL (-59.3%), and Virginia Beach, VA (-56.7%) are still experiencing severe inventory deficits.
Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale explained:
“The number of homes for sale is growing, and even hit a key milestone in May, with more than a million active listings. But not every housing market is equally well-supplied.
“Recent construction trends explain a lot of the variation in recovery that we see across markets. Many markets that built aggressively during and after the pandemic are now seeing more listings, longer time on market, and even some modest price softening. In contrast, markets that didn’t build as many homes are still facing an acute shortage, which continues to prop up prices and limit buyer options.”
More Homes, but Affordability Still a Barrier
Even with more inventory, buyers aren’t exactly rushing in. Homes spent a median of 51 days on market in May, six days longer than last year. And for the fifth month in a row, the share of price reductions climbed, reaching its highest May level in nearly a decade.
The top 10 markets with the most price reductions in May:
- Phoenix, AZ: 31.3%
- Tampa, FL: 29.9%
- Denver, CO: 29.4%
- Austin, TX: 29.2%
- Jacksonville, FL: 28.8%
- Dallas, TX: 27.0%
- Portland, OR: 26.8%
- Las Vegas, NV: 25.4%
- Orlando, FL: 25.3%
- San Antonio, TX: 24.9%
What This Means for Agents
The one million listing milestone is a positive signal. But it doesn’t guarantee an easy summer.
Buyers remain cautious, sellers are adjusting slowly, and regional imbalances are making it harder to apply a one-size-fits-all strategy.
Gary Ashton, founder of The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage in Nashville, gave his boots-on-the-ground perspective for Nashville:
“More homes on the market means buyers finally have options and leverage they haven’t had in years. But the strategy for buyers and their agents this spring largely depends on where you live.
“In Southern locales, like Nashville, the average sales price has increased by 3% as homes remain on the market for longer and local supply increases. We can expect to see sellers get creative with offering concessions to buyers and start to consider more price reductions.”
Key takeaways for agents:
- Inventory is rising, but only certain metros are seeing true recovery.
- Price cuts are becoming more common, especially in the West and South.
- Longer time on market creates more leverage for buyers, and more urgency for sellers.
- Agents in high-supply markets should prep sellers for concessions and repositioning.
- In tight-supply metros, expect continued competition and limited buyer options.
The spring market may not be red-hot, but it’s not frozen either. In today’s split recovery, local expertise is a core requirement for any serious real estate professional.
So, what are you doing on a daily basis to become (or remain) the go-to expert on your market?
