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The spring 2022 housing market was some of the aggressive durations on file. In lots of housing markets, houses went pending inside days of hitting the market as consumers rushed to lock in mortgages earlier than charges moved greater.
4 years later, the panorama seems to be very totally different.
In keeping with Zillow information, the standard U.S. dwelling listed on the market in Could 2026 went pending after roughly 18 days—thrice longer than the 6-day nationwide median recorded in Could 2022.
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Median days to pending gives a well timed glimpse into the supply-demand equilibrium of native housing markets. As a result of houses usually go pending weeks earlier than they shut, the metric typically captures shifts in market situations before closed-sales information.
If houses start taking longer to go pending, it will probably sign that consumers are gaining leverage. Conversely, falling days to pending could point out a market that’s tightening.
The maps under present simply how dramatically situations have shifted throughout the nation.
LEFT: Median days to pending in May 2022
RIGHT: Median days to pending in May 2026
Whereas houses are typically taking longer to promote virtually all over the place, the slowdown has been much more pronounced throughout many elements of the Solar Belt.
Massive parts of Florida, Texas, and the Southeast have seen median days to pending rise sharply because the pandemic-era housing increase, reflecting a market the place stock has elevated and consumers have gained leverage.
In contrast, many markets throughout the Northeast and Midwest stay comparatively tight. In quite a few metros throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and upstate New York, houses are nonetheless going pending in lower than every week.
Among the many nation’s 250 largest housing markets, the ten metros with the longest median instances to pending in Could 2026 have been:
- McAllen, TX: 79 days
- Laredo, TX: 75 days
- Naples, FL: 74 days
- Cape Coral, FL: 66 days
- Punta Gorda, FL: 66 days
- Brownsville, TX: 65 days
- Panama Metropolis, FL: 59 days
- Houma, LA: 58 days
- Port St. Lucie, FL: 54 days
- Ocala, FL: 54 days
In the meantime, the ten metros with the shortest median instances to pending in Could 2026 have been:
- Springfield, IL: 4 days
- Kansas Metropolis, MO: 5 days
- Columbus, OH: 5 days
- Lancaster, PA: 5 days
- Anchorage, AK: 5 days
- Grand Rapids, MI: 6 days
- Hartford, CT: 6 days
- Richmond, VA: 6 days
- Cincinnati, OH: 6 days
- St. Louis, MO: 6 days
Different housing markets that additionally had a median days to pending of 6 days in Could 2026 included: Dayton, OH; Syracuse, NY; York, PA; Studying, PA; Manchester, NH; Peoria, IL; Ann Arbor, MI; Erie, PA; and Topeka, KS.
The regional divide turns into even clearer when evaluating at the moment’s market to Could 2022.
Lots of the Solar Belt metros that have been among the many hottest housing markets throughout the pandemic increase have seen among the largest will increase in promoting instances.
In Miami, the median dwelling went pending in simply 10 days in Could 2022; by Could 2026, that determine had climbed to 52 days. Tampa rose from 5 days to 34 days, Jacksonville elevated from 5 days to 43 days, and Austin went from 11 days to 41 days. Comparable slowdowns have occurred throughout different elements of Florida, Texas, and the Southeast.
In contrast, many Northeast and Midwest markets have remained comparatively tight. Chicago went from 6 days to eight days, Philadelphia from 7 days to 9 days, Boston from 6 days to eight days, and Cincinnati from 3 days to six days over the identical interval.
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Patrons in lots of markets now have significantly extra negotiating energy than they did throughout the pandemic-era frenzy. Properties are taking longer to draw gives, giving consumers extra time to check listings, negotiate pricing, and request concessions.
On the similar time, many Northeast and Midwest markets proceed to face restricted stock, serving to preserve promoting instances comparatively quick regardless of elevated mortgage charges.
In different phrases, whereas the nationwide housing market has cooled significantly from its 2022 peak, native situations stay extremely regional. The markets the place houses are sitting the longest at the moment are largely concentrated in elements of the Solar Belt, whereas many markets within the Northeast and Midwest nonetheless resemble a vendor’s market.
