According to Realtor.com Research, the U.S. housing market is hitting some significant turning points this week. We're seeing active inventory climb to levels not reached since before the pandemic fully took hold, marking a major recovery from the severe shortage we experienced just a few years back. At the same time, homes are selling at a pace matching or beating last year for the eleventh consecutive week, which is a pretty dramatic shift considering we spent most of the past year and a half watching sales slow compared to the year before.
The available inventory now sits near 1.2 million homes for sale, the highest level since November 2019. When you step back and think about it, we bottomed out at just over half that number back in August 2021 during the pandemic crunch, so we've been steadily rebuilding ever since. What's interesting is that year-over-year inventory growth is actually accelerating again, hitting 3.2% this past week. Still, we're talking about levels that remain well below what was normal before the pandemic, so there's potential for further growth.
On the price front, things are looking a bit softer for sellers. The median listing price stayed relatively flat, but the price per square foot dipped to its lowest point since spring. Homes are continuing to face price reductions at levels exceeding 100,000 per week, a sign that sellers are still feeling pressure to adjust their expectations. What caught my attention is that the year-over-year price decline has eased to its mildest pace since April, suggesting the steepness of the correction may be moderating even if prices haven't stopped falling compared to last year.
The selling pace has completely turned around from where we were a year and a half ago. Homes are now moving at the same speed or faster than they were a year ago for eleven straight weeks, which is a complete reversal of the pattern we saw throughout 2024 and into early 2025. Meanwhile, new listings snapped a nine-week winning streak when compared year-over-year, though it's just one week so we're watching closely to see if this becomes a real pattern or just a blip.
What I'm seeing locally in the Bay Area and East Bay is consistent with this national picture of shifting dynamics. We've got more homes on the market than we've had in years, which gives buyers breathing room they haven't had in quite some time. The pressure is gradually moving away from sellers and toward a more balanced market, though we're still not back to what you'd call a buyer's market by historical standards. For folks in Fremont and across the East Bay, this means more options and more negotiating power than the pandemic years gave us, and it's worth paying attention to these trends as you make your moves.
