May 1, 2026 Economic and Housing Market Update

May 1, 2026

Overview

• The Realtor.com® economics team video update gives you the relevant economic and real estate information you need to know each week, every Friday, to navigate the housing market as a homebuyer, home seller, or industry professional.
• For the week ending May 1, Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale discusses the latest FOMC rate decision in Jerome Powell’s final meeting as Chair, and the advance estimate for the economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2026. 
• She then covers the latest findings for New Construction, with housing starts moving higher but a pullback in permits. However, trends vary, across and even within regions, as seen in the Realtor.com Market Clock.  
• The recent Monthly Housing Report from Realtor.com, shows new listings are rising despite uncertainty fueled by geopolitical tensions over the weeks. Prices are coming down; however, price cuts are also being reduced. Weekly Realtor.com housing data also showed steady listing trends in April.
• Trends remain stable despite ongoing fluctuation for mortgage rates, with the latest reaction to Middle East conflicts resulting in a weekly increase.
• Finally, Danielle covers the first-quarter results for homeownership, which held steady above pre-pandemic levels but were lower than the early-pandemic surge. She also discusses the first-ever Realtor.com Rent Report for Los Angeles, revealing that median rents have dropped compared to last year, unlike NYC rent prices, which rose. Prices are also up in Phoenix, as the desert metro takes on Denver in the latest Luxury Housing Showdown. And lastly, the Realtor.com teamed up with The Wall Street Journal for our quarterly Housing Market Ranking for both the overall market, which highlights mid-sized industrial cities like South Bend, Indiana and the luxury sector, where vacation destinations like Santa Fe, New Mexico took the top slots.
• Find all the details, including full reports and our housing data for download at realtor.com/research. You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter) for real-time updates. And Instagram @realtordotcomecon for graphics.

Reports and articles referenced

Housing data for download:

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

• We’ve got a first-look at economic growth in the first quarter and a good look at how housing is weathering a cloudy outlook brought on by geopolitical tensions in its peak season. I’m Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com® and I’ll dig into what we’re seeing and what it means for  homebuyers, sellers, and anyone watching the housing market.
• In Jerome Powell’s last Fed meeting as Chair, the FOMC held rates steady, a decision supported by all but one voting member. Notably, there were 3 additional dissents over differences in statement language that signal a larger variety of perspectives than is typical. 
• After the Fed’s decision came data showed that the economy grew by 2% in the first quarter following weaker growth in Q4. Growth was broadly distributed across sectors of the economy with government, investment, and consumer spending all contributing.
• Homebuilders balanced optimism and caution with starts moving higher and permits pulling back in March.  Distinct regional patterns contributed to the ups and downs, somewhat consistent with what we’ve found in analysis of the new Realtor.com Market Clock which shows a wide distribution of placements around the relatively balanced national market, reflecting varying conditions for home buyers and sellers across the country.
• Realtor.com data show that the housing market largely held its ground in April, despite the economic uncertainty sparked by geopolitical tensions in the prior weeks.  New listings rose, helping to drive further growth in the number of homes on the market. As the market rebalances, we see that homes are still selling a bit slower this year than last year. Further, asking prices continue to soften, though price cuts are down, reflecting sellers starting from a better price point. Case-Shiller price data from February showed that these softer asking points are helping to slow sales price growth as well.
• Weekly Realtor.com housing data show that these listing trends were largely consistent throughout April, although spring holidays introduced more volatility in new listings in recent weeks. 
• This stability is notable given that mortgage rates continue to fluctuate on news of improvement or deterioration in the likelihood of a lasting peace plan in the Middle East. This week new concerns pushed the mortgage rate up by 7 basis points to 6.3%.
• Government data show that in the first quarter, homeownership remained relatively steady at just over 65%, above pre-pandemic norms, and below the early-pandemic spike. Vacancy rates for rentals continue to recover gradually even as homeowner vacancy rates are still closer to long-term lows which helps to position renting as a more accessible option for many households.
• Even so, we see variation in the rental market, much like the for-sale market. A report on New York City rents and a first-ever report on Los Angeles rents highlight this variation. Asking rents in New York rose 6.2% from a year ago even as they fell in LA by 3.7% to a 4-year low.
• We did another luxury market comparison, this time examining trends in Phoenix versus Denver. The report showed an interesting reversal over the last decade. Phoenix luxury real estate has overtaken Denver as the pricier market, although both areas remain priced above the national luxury benchmark. 
• Finally, we released our quarterly Housing Market Ranking done in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal for both the overall market and the luxury sector. Overall the list is dominated by mid-sized industrial cities, including number one South Bend, Indiana.  The Wall Street Journal honed in on what’s changed in Flint, Michigan to boost it to number 10 on the list.
• Meanwhile, the Luxury Housing Market Ranking revealed a trend toward leisure towns with vacation hot-spots dominating the list, including number one: Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• You can find all the details including the Realtor.com Market Clock, full reports and our housing data for download, at realtor.com/research.  You can also follow us on X (formerly twitter) for real time updates. And instagram for graphics.

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