The US housing market enters spring with improving demand and growing supply, but the balance of power is shifting at the municipal level.
Weekly pending home sales returned to year-over-year growth in 59,283up from 56,693 same week last year. New listings are up 60,428compared to 53,861 last year. Active inventory is up 700,259 homes.
Nationally, the absorption rate has decreased to 9.68%down from 10.21% last week, while months of inventory rose to 2.7 months. The share of listings with price reductions has declined slightly year over year 31.9%from 33%.
Those national statistics suggest stability. But below the averages, metro-level differences in market speed are widening. That change is starting to have an impact on spring performance.
Absorption speed differentiates markets
Absorption measures how quickly inventory is removed from the market relative to what is available. For real estate professionals, that metric is one of the clearest signs of real-time negotiating power.
When absorption is lifted, homes open quickly and sellers keep up. When absorption slows and supply builds, timelines stretch and buyers gain bargaining flexibility.
Northeast metro is clearing the list quickly
Several Northeast metro areas post absorption rates near or above 18%, including Boston metro (56 days on market), Washington, DC, metro (77 days), Baltimore metro (77 days) and Philadelphia metro (77 days).
Boston Metro Average time on market 56 days — compared to the national median of 91 days — shows a quick return despite seasonal storms. These markets work approx 1.3 to 1.5 months of supplyIt strengthens the sales force heading into the big spring activity.
Higher absorption rates generally reflect tighter inventory conditions and reduced pricing pressure, as national supply increases.
The Florida and Texas metros show slow travel
Conditions are markedly different in parts of the Sun Belt, where most of the Florida and Texas metro areas operate as well 3.9 to 5.0 months of supply.
In the Cape Coral–Fort Myers metro area, listings averaged 119 days on the market – 28% longer than the national median – and 39.4% of homes were discounted. The metro has an absorption rate of 5.44%. Other markets including the Naples metro (4.98% absorption), the Miami metro (6.47%) and the Houston metro (6.97%) are clearing inventory at a much slower pace.
“When you see absorption drop below moderate levels, inventory starts to pile up faster than it clears,” said Logan Mohtashami, HousingWire’s lead housing analyst, in his weekly Housing Market Tracker.
Extended marketing periods and steep price cuts reflect the volatility in those markets as demand outstrips supply.
Spring offers are returning, but the impact is varied
New listings returning to year-over-year growth suggest sellers are re-entering the market ahead of peak season.
“I would expect the new listings to be between 80,000 and 100,000 per week during the peak season, as was the case from 2013-2019,” Mohtashami said.
Whether that extra supply strengthens stability or increases price pressures will depend largely on local conditions. In high-speed markets, new listings are well received. In slow markets, additional inventory may extend timeframes and increase deals.
Why this is important in measuring and selling strategy
Speed gaps also affect test decisions and writing. In highly absorbent Northeast markets, recent comparable sales may not fully reflect current momentum if profits remain brisk. In the slower markets of the Sun Belt, extended days on the market suggest more serious changes in the same options.
For buyers, lenders and investors, absorption speed is increasingly becoming a forward-looking signal – not just a descriptive metric.
An important point
The national market remains broadly stable, but metro-level differences in absorption and supply months create different spring conditions across the country.
In the northeastern parts, quick profit strengthens the power of the sellers. In several cities in Florida and Texas, low absorption and property growth are improving the buyer’s bargaining power.
For in-depth context on rates, demand signals and the state of the housing market ahead of 2026, read HousingWire’s Housing Market Tracker weekly analysis. To track real-time data on national and local markets, request access to HousingWire Intelligence. HousingWire used HousingWire Data for this story. This article is based on single-family residence data through Feb. 20, 2026. For enterprise customers looking to license the same market data at scale, visit HW Data.
