With some of the highest growth in active listings since before the pandemic, Florida dominates Realtor.com’s latest list of “10 easiest housing markets for homebuyers.”
Price corrections after pandemic overheating contributed to cities such as Punta Gorda, Florida’s placement at number two, according to Hannah Jones, Economist for the real estate website.
“Many of these markets saw prices and competition climb significantly during the early days of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Jones said.
Meanwhile, Florida’s more metropolitan areas saw a heap of new construction, a contributing factor to Miami’s inclusion on the list at number seven.
However, wrote Meghan Malas for Realtor.com, constrained demand—indicated by homes remaining on the market longer—is the primary reason for the rise in listings.
“The combination of high prices and climbing mortgage rates tempered demand, leading to building inventory, the author explained.
So, what conditions made Florida home to nine of the top 10 cities on Realtor.com’s “easiest” list?
In addition to aforementioned price, inventory, and demand-related factors, Florida’s condo market took a substantial hit in the wake of a residential building collapse in Surfside in 2021.
State lawmakers passed safety standards, which led to expensive special assessments for many owners and further contributed to increased listings in coastal markets.
A city in the Texas panhandle, however, earned the “easiest” list’s top spot.
Lubbock, Texas, where the median home price is $253,500 and listings linger a median 55 days, is the easiest market in America to buy a home, analysts determined.
The data team at Realtor.com used metrics including year-over-year shift in median list price, YoY shift in the share of listings that saw price reductions, YoY shift in active listing count, median days on the market, and change in active listing levels between July 2019 and July 2024 to determine “easiest,” by which they mean “where buyers have more power,” Malas noted.
In Lubbock, for example, homes for sale shot up by more than 80% in one year, leading to a doubling of median days on the market.
“In response, eager sellers have brought prices down, suggesting that buyers are in a good position to negotiate,” Jones said.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, homebuyers shopping in the Northeast and Midwest stand to face more challenges, analysts found.
“These more difficult metros have been resilient since the pandemic housing boom, as asking prices continue to rise even after the U.S. passed through its fastest-ever deterioration in housing affordability,” researchers reported.
In places such as the top hardest-ranked Erie, Pennsylvania research showed a significantly limited selection of available properties.
While active listings climbed annually in much of the country in July, listing counts dropped 5.6% in Erie.
“Buyers flocked to this affordable market, resulting in falling inventory, a snappy market pace, and significant price growth,” Jones said.
Plus, unlike many housing markets in the Southwest and Southeast, there’s a lack of homebuilding in the Northeast and Midwest, according to experts. Syracuse and Rochester, New York round out the top-three hardest cities for house shoppers.
Visit realtor.com for full lists of easiest and hardest places to shop for a house along with methodology and more.
