Cities With the Most and Fewest Homes on the Market

With the pandemic has come some well-established dynamics in the housing market, including a shortage of inventory, rising home prices, increased competition, and more.

As a new report from Inspection Support Network reads, "as is usually the case with real estate, these trends look different according to location."

"Many of the areas that still have a strong housing inventory are places that have seen increased home construction to accommodate a growing population," noted the study author Max Anderson.

By state, Florida leads the way in the number of homes for sale, with 248 active listings per 10,000 homes, according to the report.

Hawaii (229) and Georgia (210) are not far behind.

"In these locations, supply and demand are keeping pace with one another more than they are elsewhere. This makes them more favorable for buyers because while there are more competitors in the market, there are also more options available," Anderson noted.

To find the states with the most homes for sale, researchers calculated the average number of monthly active residential listings in 2020 per 10,000 owner-occupied homes, according to ISN.

The metro locations with fewer listings for sale in 2020 for the most part follow the same dominant national trends, the researchers reported.

"In some communities, inventory is low because demand is high and properties are selling quickly. This is most apparent in high-growth locales like Seattle and Salt Lake City, where increased demand for homes from higher-income professionals means that the few properties that are on the market move fast and at high prices."

However, they add, even in Rust Belt cities that have largely experienced economic decline in recent decades—Buffalo, NY or Grand Rapids, MI, for example, "sellers are showing reticence to put their homes on the market out of fear they will have nowhere to go—a trend that has also dramatically reduced supply."

For the entire study and methodology, visit inspectionsupport.net/resources.