Where homes are sitting on the market the longest and why

Yahoo

20 hours ago

In recent years, the only certainty in the housing market is uncertainty. From the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to unprecedented economic shifts, today's market has seen plenty of changes. Early in the pandemic, for instance, many buyers sought to take advantage of low mortgage rates, leading to a seller's market.
Today, sellers still have a great deal of leverage in many places thanks to relatively low inventory. However, buyers have started to reclaim the advantage in a number of places. Cities across the American Sun Belt have started to see listings lingering on the market far longer than they did two or three years ago. Below, PropertyReach.com explores why that is and where it's happening the most.
We can thank the COVID-19 pandemic for many of the realities we see shaping the real estate market today. Hot on the heels of the buying craze of 2021 and 2022 was a dramatic increase in listing prices. Sellers sought to take advantage of the sky-high demand, while buyers enjoyed a host of options to choose from.
As of 2025, things look a bit different. While the demand for homes has dwindled, supply has not. What's more, many sellers haven't adjusted their expectations or home prices to match, with many asking for listing prices that reflect those they saw during the pandemic.
As home prices grow–and mortgage rates inflate–many homes sit on the market for weeks and months at a time. Real estate listing data suggests that the median time homes spend on the market may be as high as 70 days, which is up from an estimated 30 days in 2022.
While this trend may be true nationwide, it's affecting some cities and regions more than others.
Most of the U.S. cities with long-lasting listings are in the Sun Belt, including Texas and Florida. That stands in contrast to the early days of COVID-19, when many younger families sought fairer climates to enjoy work-from-home arrangements.
This analysis uses public real estate data from ListWithClever and recent estimates from St. Louis FED to examine where homes are taking the longest to sell as of 2025. Median home prices, supply, days-on-market, and local income data were considered to evaluate buyer leverage in select cities.
The 305 area code is no longer the red-hot market it used to be a few years ago. The median time for Miami houses on the market in 2024 was 69 days, which is longer than all other major U.S. cities. The median home sales price in Miami is substantially above the national median, as many sellers are hoping to fetch high prices.
Right behind Miami is Austin, Texas, a storied destination for arts and music lovers. After decades of robust population growth, home sales in Austin slowed considerably in 2024, and listings sat on the market for a median period of 66 days. The astonishing number of homes developers built during the population boom has provided ample supply for buyers looking to move to the Lone Star State, but many are still wary about pulling the trigger.
One of the few northeastern cities to make 'longest-to-sell' lists, New York still boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Accordingly, buyers are thinking very carefully before making such expensive purchases, especially with mortgage rates hovering near seven percent.
Florida's largest city by population is also not seeing the turnover it experienced in 2021 and 2022. Home listings in Jacksonville last for a median period of 62 days, which is just behind Miami and Austin, Texas.
The nation's seventh-largest city by population has surprisingly affordable homes. The median sales price of a San Antonio home in 2024 was just $308,000—far lower than the national median of $470,000. The median household income for a San Antonio family in 2023 was lower than that of all but two other cities (Pittsburgh and Birmingham, Alabama) on the list of the top 10 slowest-selling U.S. cities for homes.
Although Pittsburgh has had a relatively soft landing after the decline of the city's once-ubiquitous steel industry, home sales declined from 2023 to 2024. The median sales price in Pittsburgh was the lowest among the top 10 slowest-selling U.S. cities, and median household income largely keeps pace. However, the rising inventory and stubbornly high mortgage rates have made Pittsburgh a buyer's market.
Home sellers in Birmingham, the Pittsburgh of the South, can expect listings to stay on the market for a long time—around 57 days. Homes are relatively affordable, with the median sales price hovering around $286,000. The boundary for many potential buyers, however, is the city's low median household income, which is just short of $70,000.
Sellers still have the upper hand in places like New England and the Midwest, but buyers are starting to see a shift in Florida, Texas, and a few large cities in the Northeast. Families and investors seeking nice neighborhoods can benefit from doing their due diligence (and research) in areas like these. Using resources like real estate databases and property record lookup tools can help you zoom in on great deals in markets where your money goes the furthest.
This story was produced by Property Reach and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.