A report released by Construction Coverage, a website designed to update those in the construction industry by comparing construction software, insurance and related services, highlights the U.S. cities with the biggest increase in housing inventory.
In 2023, the top three large cities were Mesa, Arizona, Aurora, Colorado and Las Vegas Nevada. The top three states with the biggest increase in housing inventory were Nevada, Utah and Washington.
In 2024, the top three large cities are Denver, Colorado, El Paso, Texas and Dallas, Texas, and the top three states are Florida, Maine and South Dakota. As for New York City, it currently stands at number 45.
However, the U.S. continues to face a housing inventory shortage. Before the pandemic, housing inventory in the U.S. was already falling short due to high mortgage rates, high interest rates and less construction of new homes. Additionally, according to a report by Realtor.com, institutional investors purchase homes at a faster rate than non-investors.
Thus, new home construction is unable to keep up with the rate at which population is growing due to immigration, urbanization and retirees preferring to age in place.
According to the report, the Midwest states are struggling the most with the shortage with only 1.5 months of supply, while the Southern states are substantially doing better with the leading state, Florida with 5.2 months of supply.
As for New York City, the housing inventory slightly decreased from 2023 levels. In the first quarter of 2023, the months’ supply was 6.5 months, while in 2024 it went down to 6.4 months.
Over the same period, a 8.8% decrease in housing inventory plagued New York City.
However, more than half of the homes for sale at a national level are located in Southern states despite only 38% of the population residing in these states.
During the pandemic, many out of state residents flocked to cheaper cities with more favorable weather conditions like Florida and Texas.
Now, the demand from out of state residents has cooled and current homeowners are seeking to see a return for their investment which has led to a surplus in housing inventory in these states.
