As summer unfolds, U.S. single-family home inventory has reached its peak level since the pre-pandemic era, according to HousingWire Data. Inventory continued to build in many markets, giving buyers more choices than they had over the past few years — though a small cluster of Northeast and Midwest markets remains persistently competitive.

During June, the national active inventory averaged 823,902 units and exceeded 840,000 by the end of the month. That’s a significant jump from roughly 628,000 in June 2024 and more than double the pandemic low of 345,000 seen in June 2021.

New listings for the month came to 310,221, narrowly beating the 299,502 newly pending contracts — a discrepancy that points to supply piling up more quickly than purchasers are making offers.

Recalibrating price hopes?

The national median list price remained unchanged at roughly $450,000 in June, but the median asking price for newly added listings fell from $440 ,000 at the start of the month to $430,000 by its close.

That could be an indication that sellers are recalibrating price hopes as the fight for buyers grows more intense, eXp Realty Chief Brokerage Officer Holly Mabery told HousingWire.

“A lot of sellers think we’re still in 2022 times, and that maybe they can test the market a little bit higher,” she said. “Right now, buyers are getting to pay a bit more on their interest rate and they’re very focused on the overall cost of housing.

“What are repairs going to be? What is it going to look like to live here, utilities, things of that nature. Insurance is going up across the nation.”

As of the week ending June 26, nearly 39% of all active listings nationwide had undergone a price cut, up from 38% at the month’s beginning and exceeding the typical 30-to-35% benchmark.

Around 9% of properties had been relisted after previously being taken off the market, offering further evidence of transactions collapsing in a weakening demand climate.

“When we’re having conversations with sellers, the first kind of foray is really focused on, ‘How do we take care of you? What is your end goal and what is your time frame?’” said Mabery. “Sometimes, that value that you desire to get and your time frame don’t mesh, and you end up chasing the market.

“It’s a level set with a seller right out of the gate, with what their local market can sustain — compared to whatever national headline they think they’ve tapped into.”

Swelling Sun Belt, Mountain West inventory

In Texas and Florida — states that experienced housing booms during the pandemic — inventories have ballooned, and homes are taking longer to sell.

Houston topped all major metropolitan areas in supply strain, recording 35,151 active listings as of June 26, with months of supply standing at 4.0 and average days on market extending to 123. Thirty-seven percent of Houston’s listings had received a price reduction. The metro was the only major one tracked to fall into buyer’s-market territory.

“When you’ve got markets across the Sun Belt, you’ve got that natural attrition that just kind of occurs, so that’s not uncommon,” said Mabery. “We’ve also seen more inventory, and people are having to move back to the cities or those epicenters post-COVID. Everybody was able to move for a lifestyle move, and now that’s kind of reversing.”

Austin and San Antonio followed a comparable pattern. Austin registered 12,147 active listings, while San Antonio posted 16,015. Almost half of Austin’s properties — 49.6% — had seen their asking prices lowered, the highest share among all major metros in the dataset.

Denver’s inventory has surged back with 7,955 active listings and a $680,000 median price, but 50% of homes are cutting prices — signaling a market cooling from its pandemic-era frenzy.

“Buyers are evaluating a lot more than price today — looking at things like condition, presentation, monthly affordability and how that home compares to everything else that’s available,” said Emily Duke, managing broker at Denver-based, ERA Real Estate-affiliated LUX Real Estate Company. “Our goal is to create the strongest perceived value from day one.

“That means investing more up front in preparation, pricing strategy, presentation, marketing, so we’re putting the property in the strongest competitive position possible right out of the gates.”

Miami, even with its elevated price tier, exhibited stress.

The metro ended June with 13,198 active listings and a median list price of $799,000. Properties spent a median of 84 days on the market — longer than in any other major metro tracked — and 35.9% of listings had been marked down.

Nashville completed the Sun Belt pressure cluster, with 8,160 active listings and 3.4 months of inventory as of June 26.

“The market still rewards excellence,” said Duke. “So, well-prepared, well-positioned homes are still selling very close to asking price. Sometimes they’re receiving multiple offers, and it seems like the homes that struggle are often the ones that enter the market without that compelling value proposition. So, because buyers have choice today, they’re rewarding the homes that are giving them that confidence they’re looking for.”

While much of the country deals with an oversupply, Northeast markets remain squarely in seller-dominated territory.

Providence, R.I., stood out with only 1,665 active listings and 1.4 months of inventory. Its median list price rose to $665,000 by the last week of June. Just 25% of listings had taken a price cut — far below the national figure.

West Virginia remains tight with just 2.0 months of inventory, yet its $275,000 median price stands as a rare affordability bright spot.

“We’re still seeing stuff turn over pretty quickly,” said Josh McGrath, broker-owner of West Virginia-based Better Homes and Garden Real Estate Central. “Now we do have a little more inventory than we’ve had, so realistically, we’re just needing to have the conversation with sellers of exactly that. It’s not 2021 anymore.”

Milwaukee recorded only 1,257 active listings, with homes moving in a median of 28 days — a stark contrast to the 70 days seen in Tampa and Orlando.

Montgomery County, Pa., registered 1.5 months of inventory and a median list price of $742,550.

Nassau County, N.Y., while less pronounced, remained a seller’s market with 2.2 months of inventory and a median list price closing in on $1 million.

Buyers’ new mindset

“We are seeing buyers shift from buying a house to buying a home, and there’s a different mindset that comes with that,” McGrath said about the broader regional market. “They’re being more methodical about what they’re buying. They’re placing more emphasis on ‘I’ than they were. They’re being more patient with finding the right one. It has to be conditioned right and priced right, or it’s going to be overlooked.”

San Francisco defied the broader California trend, posting just 1.8 months of inventory—the tightest supply among all major West Coast metros tracked.

“[Agents] are having better conversations, and they’re also seeing buyers come back,” said Mabery. “They cancel the contract. They go look at something else, and then they come back to that seller, maybe a little bit differently with a little bit lower price. The strategy has shifted.

“For agents, it’s really about being aware of the hot buttons in your marketplace because it it’s all still very, very local.”

HousingWire Data findings paint a picture of a housing market increasingly split by geography. Where land is scarce, zoning rules are strict and inventory has stayed historically constrained — particularly throughout the Northeast — sellers continue to hold the upper hand.

Where construction surged and affordability dampened demand, buyers are steadily gaining leverage as the market moves into the latter half of 2026.

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