51 Days on Market: The Slowest Spring Since 2019
U.S. median days on market reached 51 in April 2026 — the slowest spring since 2019. Pending sales trail year-ago levels, buyer's markets outnumber sellers 38 to 5.
The Data
!51 Days on Market: The Slowest Spring Since 2019
51 days. That's the median time a U.S. home sat on the market before going under contract in the week ending April 20, 2026, according to a weekly metro-level housing market tracker. One day longer than the same week in 2019 — the last pre-pandemic spring — and four days longer than a year ago.
April carries more weight than any other month in the housing calendar. Homes that fail to clear during the peak spring window tend to sit until September. The same weekly tracker shows 38 of the 50 largest metros now classify as buyer's markets, against just 5 that remain seller's markets — the widest imbalance in the data series.
The Context
The 51-day reading reinforces the National Association of Realtors' March existing-home sales report, which showed existing-home sales falling 3.6% month-over-month. Mortgage rates have held near 7% for most of 2026 while median asking prices have edged higher, widening the gap that listings need to clear to move.
REI Prime's April 20 brief flagged 11 states where active listings have climbed above pre-pandemic norms. Those states — Florida, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee — are doing most of the work pulling the national days-on-market figure higher. The divergence shows up clearly on individual metro hubs: Tampa, Austin, and Denver all sit well north of the national median.
Also Moving
- Core PCE inflation reached 3.2% in March (FRED PCEPILFE), the highest reading since early 2024 and a complication for any near-term rate-cut path.
- Bay Area median sale price rose 14% year-over-year against a 1% national gain (weekly metro-level tracker) — a reminder that softness in the national aggregate is not evenly distributed.
- Pending home sales continue to trail year-ago levels, extending an annual-decline streak documented in the weekly housing market tracker dataset.
What to Watch
Three observable signals over the next 30 days:
- April 29: FOMC rate decision. Consensus is a hold at 4.25–4.50%. Any dissent toward a cut would mark the first directional break since December 2024.
- May 8: the next release of the weekly metro-level market tracker. A median DOM reading above 55 would be the slowest April since 2014.
- May 22: NAR releases April existing-home sales. Months-of-supply above 4.5 would push the national market out of the historical balanced range (3–5 months) for the first time since 2019.
Data sources: weekly metro-level housing market tracker, NAR existing-home sales, FRED PCEPILFE.
CES is the BLS monthly survey of business payrolls that produces nonfarm employment counts at the national, state, and metro level — the establishment-based counterpart to LAUS unemployment data.
Read definition →NAR is the largest U.S. real estate trade association — 1.5 million REALTOR® members — that governs the MLS system, publishes the monthly Existing Home Sales report, owns Realtor.com, and whose 2024 settlement reshaped how buyer agents get paid.
Read definition →A lease is a legally binding contract between a landlord and a tenant that grants the tenant exclusive use of a property for a specified period in exchange for rent — establishing every right, obligation, and financial term that governs the rental relationship.
Read definition →Asking price is the dollar amount a seller publicly lists a property for on the open market — the starting point for negotiation, not a reflection of what the property is actually worth or what it will ultimately sell for.
Read definition →An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit federal tax ID assigned by the IRS to identify a business entity for tax and banking purposes.
Read definition →APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the total annualized cost of a loan expressed as a percentage, incorporating both the interest rate and lender fees — origination charges, discount points, broker fees — spread across the full loan term. Mandated by the Truth in Lending Act, it gives borrowers a standardized number that's always higher than or equal to the stated interest rate.
Read definition →Martin Maxwell
Founder & Head of Research, REI PRIME
Specializing in rental properties, I excel in uncovering investments that promise high returns. Sailing the seas is my escape, steering through challenges just like in the world of real estate.
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