As states begin to reopen and restrictions start to ease, the housing market starts showing signs of improvement, the latest housing market trends report says.

The decline in the housing market seems to have bottomed out after the coronavirus pandemic forced restrictions to be imposed on U.S. economic activities, according to the data from the May 2020 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report

In May, the median home listing price grew by 1.6 percent year-over-year to $330,000, an improvement from April's 0.6 percent year-over-year growth. The increase in May was partly due to the change in the inventory mix which saw an increase in the share of expensive properties compared to April.

Median Listing Price Grew

For the week ending  May 30, 2020, the year-over-year change in median listing price also indicated a growth by as much as 3.1 percent. The national median listing price per square foot increased by 5.4 percent year-over-year compared to the 4.0 percent growth shown in April.

Median listing price growth was also observed within the largest metros, an average of 3.3 percent from the 1.6 percent year-over-year growth posted in April. Thirty-five out of the 50 largest metros saw gains in listing price from 30 last April. 

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Those that recorded the largest year-over-year median listing price gains include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA with 14.9 percent; Pittsburgh, PA with 14.0 percent; and Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN with 12.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the biggest median listing price declines were recorded in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI down by 3.4 percent; San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX declined 3.2 percent; and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA also down by 3.1 percent.

Homes for Sale Inventory Still Declining

The number of available homes for sale nationwide continued to decline in May. None of the 50 largest U.S. metros saw an increase in inventory while 43 of the 50 largest metros recorded greater declines compared to April.

The national inventory fell 19.9 percent from the same period last year or a drop of 255,000 listings. The rate of decline is faster compared to year-over-year declined recorded in April at 15.3 percent.

As for the 50 largest metros in the U.S. housing inventory fell by 21.9 percent in May compared to one year ago. The rate of year-over-year decline in May is faster than the 16.0 percent recorded in April. 

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The metros with the largest decline in the volume of new listings year-over-year include Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD at -50.3 percent; Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY at -43 percent; Providence-Warwick, RI-MA at -41.9 percent; New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA at -40.7 percent; and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD at -40.3 percent.

Homes Took Longer to Sell Due to COVID-19

As people were forced to stay at home due to COVID-19 and health safety protocols implemented, homes for sale sat longer on the market. On average, it took 71 days for typical homes to be sold in May, which is 15 days longer compared to the same period last year.

In 50 largest metros, the typical home for sale waited 58 days on the market before getting sold, 13 days slower, on average, compared to May last year. The larger metros where days on market increased the most include Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY up by 34 days; Pittsburgh, PA with an increase of 33 days; and Detroit-Warren-Dearborn-MI with an increase of 32 days. 

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