According to Realtor.com Research, we're seeing some encouraging signs in the national housing market as we head deeper into summer. Homes are moving off the market faster than they were a year ago, which is happening for the second time in just four weeks. That's a meaningful signal that buyer interest is picking up steam after what's been a pretty sluggish stretch. At the same time, active inventory has stayed above 1.1 million properties for six straight weeks, and that year-over-year gain is the largest we've seen since April.
The inventory story is particularly interesting because it shows us that the market is genuinely stabilizing after all the disruption from the pandemic years. We haven't had this much consistent active inventory since late 2019, which tells me we're getting back to something closer to normal. What's also worth noting is that new listing activity has remained remarkably steady, staying within 1% of last year's pace every single week since late January. That kind of consistency is unusual and suggests the seasonal patterns are playing out much like they did twelve months ago.
On the pricing front, median list prices have continued to ease downward in absolute terms, though when you compare them year-over-year, the gap has been tightening slightly. We're now 28 weeks into a streak where prices are trailing last year's levels, going all the way back to mid-January. What strikes me is that price reductions aren't happening at a faster clip than they were earlier in the year, which suggests sellers aren't feeling desperate to negotiate despite the price softness.
The speed at which homes are selling has also shifted noticeably. Back in February, homes were sitting on the market nearly 12% longer than a year prior, but we've turned a corner since May. Homes are now selling at similar speeds or faster than last year, which represents a real turnaround from that long period where everything moved slower. Median days on market dropped by one day compared to last year, marking the second time in four weeks we've seen that improvement.
What I'm seeing locally in the Bay Area and East Bay is that this national momentum toward faster sales and healthy inventory levels is definitely filtering into our market. Buyers who've been waiting on the sidelines are starting to engage again, and that's creating some real activity. The fact that inventory is stabilizing gives both buyers and sellers more options and room to negotiate thoughtfully, which is healthier for everyone than the frantic conditions we experienced before or the dragging slowness of earlier this year.
