Home listings are piling up as buyers step back from the peak of home shopping season faster than normal and home sellers cut prices as inventory grows, according to the latest monthly report from Zillow. 


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“A growing segment of homes that aren’t competitively priced or well marketed are lingering on the market. Sellers are increasingly cutting prices to entice buyers struggling with affordability,” said Skylar Olsen, chief economist of Zillow. “For years, the housing market has been defined by fast sales and few options. Now it’s starting to look more like it did before the pandemic in terms of competition, if not costs. As the wait for mortgage rate relief drags on, slower price growth and even dips in some areas will help buyers catch up on saving for a down payment.”

Inventory slowly recovers

The total number of homes on the market has risen throughout the year, ticking up 4% from May to June to stand nearly 23% above last year’s low level. While inventory levels are still about 33% below pre-pandemic averages, that’s the smallest deficit since the fall of 2020, when the pool of available homes was quickly dropping.

Inventory is higher than last year in all of the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas except two — New York and Cleveland — and rose month over month in all but five. 

Attractive listings are selling relatively quickly. But buyers still in the market are enjoying a few more days to weigh their choices than they had last summer. Homes sold in June were typically on the market for 15 days before the seller accepted an offer. That’s five days shorter than pre-pandemic norms, the smallest difference since June 2020.

High costs weigh on buyers

While mortgage rates have eased from May peaks, buyers are still contending with costs that have risen far faster than wages. A median-income household can afford mortgage payments when buying a typical home in just 11 of 50 major markets, even when putting 20% down. 

With many buyers pushed to the sidelines by costs, Zillow’s Sales Nowcast in June took a 9% step down from May; sales are 35% lower than pre-pandemic norms. 

Slowing appreciation could give buyers a break

Home value growth has slowed as inventory rises. Annual appreciation is a reasonable 3.2% nationally, down from a 2024 peak of 4.6% in March. Monthly growth has decelerated to 0.6% — the slowest June appreciation since 2011. 

Slower home value growth in the months ahead could give struggling buyers a chance to make up ground. Zillow forecasts home values to rise just 1% nationally through June 2025.

Cooling competition brings price cuts

While sellers still have a slight edge nationally, Zillow’s market heat index shows a balanced market may be just over the horizon. Competition is easing fastest in the South; all major Southern markets are either neutral or buyer-friendly, with the exception of Dallas and Raleigh.

Sellers are cutting prices more often to entice buyers. Nearly one-quarter of listings (24.5%) received a price cut in June, the highest rate for this time of year in Zillow records dating back to 2018. 

It can be tricky to keep up with rapidly changing list prices and mortgage rates. Zillow’s new BuyAbility tool uses up-to-date mortgage rates to show home shoppers price ranges and monthly payments they personally could afford, and whether they’re likely to be approved for a loan. Shoppers can make sure all their results on Zillow stay within a set monthly budget by using the search by monthly cost filter.

Metropolitan Area*June Zillow
Home Value
Index (ZHVI)
(Raw)
ZHVI Change,
Month over
month (MoM)
ZHVI Change
Since Before
the Pandemic
Market
Favors**
Share of
Listings
with a
Price Cut
Inventory
Change,
YoY
New Listings
Change,
Since
Before the
Pandemic***
New Listings
Change,
Year over
Year
United States$362,4820.6 %46.1 %Seller’s
market
24.5 %22.7 %-25.6 %-0.1 %
New York, NY$668,9301.0 %32.9 %Strong
seller’s
market
14.2 %-2.6 %-39.0 %-1.4 %
Los Angeles, CA$967,4540.5 %43.5 %Strong
seller’s
market
18.5 %26.1 %-26.2 %12.6 %
Chicago, IL$326,4261.1 %37.2 %Seller’s
market
22.2 %3.0 %-31.7 %-3.7 %
Dallas, TX$379,7070.2 %47.1 %Seller’s
market
35.2 %34.7 %-17.3 %-0.4 %
Houston, TX$310,8200.3 %39.0 %Neutral
market
30.2 %26.4 %-11.7 %-0.8 %
Washington, DC$568,7890.3 %31.1 %Strong
seller’s
market
21.1 %15.5 %-27.4 %0.0 %
Philadelphia, PA$365,1380.8 %44.9 %Seller’s
market
20.9 %7.3 %-28.8 %0.1 %
Miami, FL$489,5480.1 %62.2 %Buyer’s
market
22.7 %47.9 %-10.7 %8.0 %
Atlanta, GA$387,4470.3 %56.9 %Neutral
market
29.5 %38.4 %-23.4 %6.2 %
Boston, MA$704,8750.8 %43.7 %Strong
seller’s
market
18.9 %17.4 %-30.7 %8.9 %
Phoenix, AZ$459,469-0.1 %52.9 %Neutral
market
33.8 %17.7 %-28.5 %3.4 %
San Francisco, CA$1,179,7890.1 %25.6 %Strong
seller’s
market
19.0 %30.0 %-20.9 %8.4 %
Riverside, CA$586,7490.5 %52.8 %Seller’s
market
22.5 %27.7 %-30.6 %8.9 %
Detroit, MI$256,4871.0 %41.8 %Seller’s
market
21.0 %11.5 %-30.4 %-1.6 %
Seattle, WA$747,8070.2 %45.1 %Seller’s
market
25.2 %30.4 %-27.8 %9.4 %
Minneapolis, MN$377,4680.5 %28.0 %Strong
seller’s
market
22.7 %12.8 %-34.4 %-13.6 %
San Diego, CA$958,2130.2 %57.1 %Seller’s
market
24.5 %41.6 %-29.6 %11.1 %
Tampa, FL$379,857-0.1 %61.7 %Buyer’s
market
34.7 %71.1 %-13.5 %4.7 %
Denver, CO$590,8760.0 %36.1 %Seller’s
market
34.8 %30.1 %-22.3 %-3.1 %
Baltimore, MD$386,9920.3 %31.7 %Seller’s
market
23.1 %14.4 %-27.0 %-2.8 %
St. Louis, MO$256,1261.0 %41.6 %Strong
seller’s
market
20.6 %14.5 %-27.1 %-1.8 %
Orlando, FL$397,6330.1 %54.7 %Neutral
market
29.4 %59.8 %-13.3 %6.2 %
Charlotte, NC$385,7210.3 %59.7 %Neutral
market
24.8 %34.3 %-18.2 %13.7 %
San Antonio, TX$289,1180.1 %34.9 %Neutral
market
31.7 %28.0 %-10.1 %-5.0 %
Portland, OR$552,9940.2 %32.7 %Seller’s
market
26.7 %19.0 %-31.2 %-4.7 %
Sacramento, CA$584,4330.2 %34.8 %Seller’s
market
26.5 %19.9 %-34.8 %-2.8 %
Pittsburgh, PA$219,6321.4 %35.2 %Seller’s
market
25.5 %8.4 %-25.8 %-0.2 %
Cincinnati, OH$289,7101.0 %49.0 %Seller’s
market
24.6 %12.6 %-23.2 %-2.3 %
Austin, TX$462,322-0.1 %42.2 %Buyer’s
market
31.5 %14.5 %-9.7 %-8.7 %
Las Vegas, NV$431,5430.6 %45.3 %Seller’s
market
24.6 %9.5 %-31.6 %9.5 %
Kansas City, MO$307,9490.7 %46.9 %Seller’s
market
26.3 %21.1 %-34.6 %-4.8 %
Columbus, OH$315,9910.7 %50.8 %Seller’s
market
27.1 %19.5 %-22.8 %0.5 %
Indianapolis, IN$283,7810.7 %51.8 %Seller’s
market
30.3 %14.2 %-23.3 %-9.3 %
Cleveland, OH$234,5681.6 %48.7 %Strong
seller’s
market
20.2 %-0.2 %-28.6 %-6.4 %
San Jose, CA$1,637,1330.6 %42.6 %Strong
seller’s
market
15.7 %39.0 %-15.8 %29.3 %
Nashville, TN$446,0450.3 %49.2 %Neutral
market
33.6 %23.2 %-12.3 %1.4 %
Virginia Beach, VA$353,6080.6 %41.9 %Seller’s
market
20.7 %18.8 %-29.2 %-6.8 %
Providence, RI$489,5471.3 %53.6 %Strongseller’s
market
17.3 %18.1 %-39.8 %6.1 %
Jacksonville, FL$359,7370.1 %52.5 %Buyer’s
market
31.9 %48.4 %-9.6 %4.3 %
Milwaukee, WI$352,4041.3 %44.2 %Strong
seller’s
market
12.9 %6.3 %-14.6 %-8.9 %
Oklahoma City, OK$237,6300.5 %43.5 %Neutralmarket30.1 %21.9 %-12.1 %2.7 %
Raleigh, NC$447,6390.3 %53.8 %Seller’s market32.1 %32.2 %-22.0 %1.0 %
Memphis, TN$242,6940.4 %47.1 %Buyer’s
market
26.7 %29.2 %-7.1 %10.1 %
Richmond, VA$373,2300.7 %48.0 %Strong
seller’s
market
20.9 %20.4 %-29.5 %3.7 %
Louisville, KY$260,3420.7 %38.0 %Seller’smarket25.3 %23.5 %-22.5 %1.3 %
New Orleans, LA$241,5280.0 %4.9 %Buyer’smarket26.9 %5.1 %-2.9 %-5.7 %
Salt Lake City, UT$547,6880.2 %46.6 %Seller’s
market
34.2 %14.8 %-32.0 %-7.7 %
Hartford, CT$365,9541.3 %58.2 %Strongseller’s
market
14.7 %5.3 %-41.1 %-7.8 %
Buffalo, NY$267,0051.6 %53.8 %Strong
seller’s
market
16.6 %5.2 %-22.2 %1.5 %
Birmingham, AL$254,2860.3 %38.0 %Neutral
market
23.9 %16.7 %-21.9 %-6.8 %
*Table ordered by market size, **According to Zillow’s market heat index