April is typically the beginning of the spring homebuying season, but this year, fewer sellers than usual are putting their homes on the market. Homeowners who were able to lock in record-low mortgage rates in 2020 and 2021 aren’t inclined to shop for a new house if that means getting a new mortgage. Institutional investors also snapped up huge numbers of single-family homes to turn into rental properties in recent years, while simultaneously, many older Americans are choosing to age in place.
The end result? About 20% fewer homes are being listed compared to the same time last year, according to Realtor.com data.
Of course, some cities and towns have lower inventory than others. To find out which metropolitan areas had the fewest homes for sale in April, Stacker consulted data from Realtor.com. Rankings were determined by the number of homes for sale per 10,000 residents. In the event of a tie, the total number of homes for sale was used. To be included, each metro had to have at least 75,000 residents. Metros include the main city as well as surrounding towns and suburbs.
Many of these metropolitan areas have home prices below the national median list price of $430,000, a sign affordability is top of mind for buyers. Keep reading to find out where prospective buyers are feeling the most competition for the fewest number of homes.
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#35. Buffalo, New York
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 766
– New listings in April: 872
– Median list price: $249,900
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#34. Rochester, New York
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 734
– New listings in April: 892
– Median list price: $264,900
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#33. Fresno, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 681
– New listings in April: 672
– Median list price: $443,000
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#32. Worcester, Massachusetts
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 674
– New listings in April: 916
– Median list price: $504,900
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#31. Oxnard, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 571
– New listings in April: 552
– Median list price: $985,000
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#30. Stockton, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 538
– New listings in April: 600
– Median list price: $579,000
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#29. Reading, Pennsylvania
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 300
– New listings in April: 456
– Median list price: $309,950
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#28. Vallejo, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 297
– New listings in April: 428
– Median list price: $605,280
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#27. Elkhart, Indiana
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 140
– New listings in April: 152
– Median list price: $299,900
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#26. Springfield, Illinois
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 137
– New listings in April: 224
– Median list price: $179,945
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#25. Oshkosh, Wisconsin
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 113
– New listings in April: 180
– Median list price: $331,987
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#24. Lumberton, North Carolina
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 87
– New listings in April: 64
– Median list price: $261,900
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#23. Ithaca, New York
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 69
– New listings in April: 68
– Median list price: $449,000
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#22. Bay City, Michigan
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 68
– New listings in April: 96
– Median list price: $177,500
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#21. Midland, Michigan
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 62
– New listings in April: 76
– Median list price: $292,500
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#20. Auburn, New York
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 7
– Total active listings: 54
– New listings in April: 56
– Median list price: $265,000
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#19. San Diego
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 1,948
– New listings in April: 2,144
– Median list price: $999,970
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#18. Springfield, Massachusetts
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 437
– New listings in April: 560
– Median list price: $369,000
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#17. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 327
– New listings in April: 416
– Median list price: $399,900
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#16. Modesto, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 319
– New listings in April: 380
– Median list price: $520,000
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#15. Salinas, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 272
– New listings in April: 196
– Median list price: $1,300,000
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#14. Manchester, New Hampshire
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 248
– New listings in April: 400
– Median list price: $532,500
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#13. Santa Maria, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 247
– New listings in April: 200
– Median list price: $1,895,000
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#12. Rockford, Illinois
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 196
– New listings in April: 312
– Median list price: $180,000
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#11. Erie, Pennsylvania
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 173
– New listings in April: 172
– Median list price: $229,950
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#10. El Centro, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 105
– New listings in April: 88
– Median list price: $354,950
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#9. Concord, New Hampshire
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 97
– New listings in April: 148
– Median list price: $522,450
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#8. Springfield, Ohio
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 87
– New listings in April: 104
– Median list price: $157,250
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#7. Wooster, Ohio
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 71
– New listings in April: 80
– Median list price: $239,450
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#6. Farmington, New Mexico
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 6
– Total active listings: 69
– New listings in April: 64
– Median list price: $342,000
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#5. Lafayette, Indiana
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 5
– Total active listings: 107
– New listings in April: 188
– Median list price: $329,000
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#4. Wausau, Wisconsin
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 5
– Total active listings: 87
– New listings in April: 104
– Median list price: $272,950
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#3. Lewiston, Maine
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 5
– Total active listings: 60
– New listings in April: 80
– Median list price: $324,900
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#2. Mansfield, Ohio
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 5
– Total active listings: 57
– New listings in April: 112
– Median list price: $169,950
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#1. San Jose, California
– Active listings per 10,000 residents: 4
– Total active listings: 884
– New listings in April: 1,128
– Median list price: $1,524,999
Data reporting by Elena Cox. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close.