The Number of Homes For Sale Is Rapidly Rising In These 10 Cities

Navigating the U.S. housing market over the last few years has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. Housing supply is still well below what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but that’s slowly changing in some places. After years of low inventory and high demand, a recent Realtor.com analysis found that the number of U.S. home sales is rising over 200%, its fastest pace in five years.

So, where is housing inventory rising the fastest? To find out, Realtor.com examined active home listings from July 2021 to July 2022 per 10,000 owner-occupied housing units in the country’s 300 biggest metropolitan areas. 

Coming in first place is Panama City, Florida, which has spent the past four years rebuilding from the damage wreaked by 2018’s Hurricane Michael. Although most of the surge in inventory can be attributed to homes being rebuilt and repaired post-storm, builders are also adding new homes to local, master-planned communities like Breakfast Point and SweetBay (which have starting prices of $400,000). Affordability elsewhere is even more attractive, with most new properties priced between $250,000 and $300,000 for three-bedroom, two-bath and four-bedroom, two bath homes.

Next up is Lake Havasu City, Arizona, which doubles as a popular destination for retirees and spring breakers alike. The sunny town is conveniently situated at the junction of Arizona, California, and Nevada. With lower taxes and less expensive real estate, Lake Havasu is an attractive alternative for many Californians.

In third place is Provo, Utah, a great example of a metro that attracted pandemic buyers looking to move away from bigger cities and into less expensive homes close to nature. The town sits just 45 minutes from Salt Lake City, Utah, and median home prices are nearly $25,000 lower than in the City of Saints. Although city transplants often outbid local buyers back in 2020, inventory has now started to rise again as prices have fallen. 

Reno, Nevada snagged fourth place. Another metro that city dwellers have flocked to over the past few years, Reno sits at the California border and is less than an hour away from Lake Tahoe. If you’re craving easy access to mountain, desert, and lake activities alike, this is a great spot for you. It’s also getting more affordable — although median Reno home prices surged 34% from March 2020 to April 2022, they’ve been falling ever since.

Still looking? Here are the top 10 cities where home cities are increasing:

1. Panama City, FL
2. Lake Havasu City, AZ
3. Provo, UT
4. Reno, NV
5. Merced, CA
6. Lake Charles, LA
7. Coeur d’Alene, ID
8. Colorado Springs, CO
9. Medford, OR
10. Austin, TX

You can read more about Realtor.com’s findings here.