One reason for the elevated demand by renters as well as their longer tenure is that the US housing market has been shut off to them because of high mortgage rates, and to a lesser extent, lack of inventory.
But Realtor.com has identified 14 markets where inventory is rising to pre-pandemic levels. They share some common traits, writes Evan Wyloge, starting with the unsurprising fact that most are in the Sunbelt and some experienced a population boom during COVID-19 as homebuyers sought out bigger homes in warmer climates.
It is possible these cities could represent a broader loosening of supply. “Our inventory conditions are, for the most part, improving across the US,” says Hannah Jones, a senior economic analyst at Realtor.com. “This summer and fall could be better in terms of more inventory, which could take some pressure off of prices, or at the very least, it could dampen price growth.”
To reach these conclusions, Realtor.com compared the active inventory per 10,000 total housing units from among the 100 largest metros in the US, which can provide a more accurate metric for comparisons between metros, over several years of data.
Over the past five years, it found that while inventory declined by 41% across the US, it rose in these cities.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL rose by 33%.
Colorado Springs, CO by 30%
Memphis, TN, by 22%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL, 18%
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, 16%
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX, 13%
New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 12%
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC, 12%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, 11%
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL, 10%
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL, 8%
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL, 6%
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, 2%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, 2%