The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the housing market: As hoards of Americans picked up and moved, home prices reached all-time highs, inventory hit all-time lows, and a shortage of homes for sale has persisted ever since.
But that’s finally shifting.
A new monthly housing report from Realtor.com found that while most of America’s 50 largest metros still had inventory levels below their pre-pandemic years, four cities actually saw higher inventory levels in March than was typical from 2017-2019.
San Antonio experienced a remarkable post-pandemic surge in homes for sale at 27.1%, while Austin, TX, followed with 18.1%. Dallas and Denver also witnessed respectable growth rates of 4.6% each.
“Central Texas markets have seen sufficient inventory recovery to be back to pre-pandemic levels over the past few months, and they’ve recently been joined by Denver,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “This shift reflects not only the cooling these markets have seen recently, but also that they were relatively in-demand areas even before the pandemic.”
Why certain housing markets have recovered from the pandemic
So, why have the inventories in these four cities bounced back to exceed pre-pandemic levels? This resurgence in housing supply can be chalked up to several factors.
With mortgage rates climbing and ultimately reaching generational highs last year, many home sellers felt “locked in” to their existing low rates. Yet the persistent demand for homes may have finally incentivized some homeowners to cash out their home equity to downsize or relocate.
Moreover, the construction industry has by now adapted to the challenges caused by the pandemic, addressing supply chain disruptions and accelerating build timelines. And certain cities are moving full speed ahead on new construction, putting up houses as fast as they can to meet demand.
In fact, all four metros with housing levels higher than in pre-pandemic years rank in the top 20 markets for new construction. According to research from Ali Wolfe, chief economist at Zonda Homes, Dallas comes in at No. 1 with 42,513 annualized housing starts in 2023. Austin lands at No. 6 with 15,527 housing starts, followed by San Antonio at No. 7 with 14,800 housing starts, and Denver at No. 18 with 7,604 housing starts.
Here’s a closer look at the four metro areas where housing inventory has finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels, along with median listing prices for these areas.
1. San Antonio
2. Austin
3. Dallas
Median price:$440,000
4. Denver, CO
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