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The spring 2022 housing market was one of the crucial aggressive intervals on document. In lots of housing markets, houses went pending inside days of hitting the market as patrons rushed to lock in mortgages earlier than charges moved greater.
4 years later, the panorama seems to be very totally different.
In accordance with Zillow information, the everyday U.S. house listed on the market in Might 2026 went pending after roughly 18 days—3 times longer than the 6-day nationwide median recorded in Might 2022.
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Median days to pending presents 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 usually captures shifts in market circumstances prior to closed-sales information.
If houses start taking longer to go pending, it will possibly sign that patrons are gaining leverage. Conversely, falling days to pending could point out a market that’s tightening.
The maps beneath present simply how dramatically circumstances have shifted throughout the nation.
LEFT: Median days to pending in May 2022
RIGHT: Median days to pending in May 2026
Whereas houses are usually taking longer to promote nearly all over the place, the slowdown has been way more pronounced throughout many elements of the Solar Belt.
Giant parts of Florida, Texas, and the Southeast have seen median days to pending rise sharply because the pandemic-era housing growth, reflecting a market the place stock has elevated and patrons have gained leverage.
Against this, 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 Might 2026 had 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 Might 2026 had 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 Might 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 immediately’s market to Might 2022.
Lots of the Solar Belt metros that had been among the many hottest housing markets in the course of the pandemic growth have seen a few of the largest will increase in promoting instances.
In Miami, the median house went pending in simply 10 days in Might 2022; by Might 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.
Against this, 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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Consumers in lots of markets now have significantly extra negotiating energy than they did in the course of the pandemic-era frenzy. Houses are taking longer to draw presents, giving patrons 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 maintain promoting instances comparatively brief regardless of elevated mortgage charges.
In different phrases, whereas the nationwide housing market has cooled significantly from its 2022 peak, native circumstances stay extremely regional. The markets the place houses are sitting the longest immediately are largely concentrated in elements of the Solar Belt, whereas many markets within the Northeast and Midwest nonetheless resemble a vendor’s market.
