Weekly Housing Trends: U.S. Market Update (Week Ending May 9, 2026)

Welcome to this weekly housing trends update, where we bring you the latest snapshot of inventory trends, listing activity, and buyer-seller dynamics across the U.S. housing market. In addition to our monthly housing trends reports, which offer deeper insights into long-term patterns, we publish these weekly updates to provide more timely views into market changes. This effort began in response to rapid shifts in the economy and housing landscape. You can count on a new Weekly Housing Trends update, fresh weekly data each Thursday, and a weekly video from our economists to help you stay informed.

What this week’s data shows

This week’s housing data looks quite similar to weeks past as the spring market ambles along relatively steadily. Inventory continues to build, holding steady at the previous week’s multiyear-low pace, while time on the market holds steady, with homes spending just one additional day on the market compared to last year.

The standout signal over the past few weeks is listing prices, which continued to decline year over year for the 17th straight week. Price reductions are falling year over year, suggesting that this listing price softness is more of an indication of adjusting seller expectations than a sign of market weakness. Put differently, sellers seem to be listing at a lower price to begin with, rather than listing high and reducing the price later. This continued shift is good news for buyers, who may see more homes coming to the market at attractive prices.

New listings, a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale, picked up 2.1% year over year

New-listing activity dipped slightly below 120,000 this week but still outpaced last year’s pace. The bumpy trajectory over recent weeks suggests homeowners are approaching this spring with caution, likely taking cues from broader market and economic conditions. Some sellers are reengaging as mortgage rates hold at their lowest level this spring, while others appear to be staying on the sidelines amid rate volatility and wider economic uncertainty. 

Active inventory climbed 2.3% year over year

The number of homes for sale continues to exceed year-ago levels, though growth has moderated significantly, from nearly 10% gains at the start of the year to roughly 2% today. The slowdown likely reflects both sellers feeling hesitant to list and a modest uptick in buyer activity absorbing some available supply. Year to date, active inventory remains 6.3% above the same period last year. 

Homes spent 1 day longer on the market than a year ago

Time on the market continues to run one day behind last year’s pace. That gap has been narrowing throughout the year, suggesting buyers are steadily absorbing available supply rather than letting it accumulate. Combined with the modest growth in active inventory, the overall picture is of a market in a holding pattern—demand is soft, but active enough to keep both inventory levels and time on the market from building up meaningfully. 

The median listing price fell 2.5% year over year 

Asking prices have fallen or held flat for 29 consecutive weeks, with this week marking the 17th straight week of outright year-over-year declines. The pace of decline eased slightly, improving from -2.9% to -2.3%. Together, the moderating inventory growth, narrowing time-on-market gap, and fewer price reductions suggest that sellers are adjusting their expectations upfront, pricing homes to sell rather than cutting after listing.