Spring is usually a time of year when the housing market presses down on the accelerator. But in April, as mortgage rates spiked back above 7% for the first time this year, the market coasted off of the speed built up in the first three months of the year. Home values continued to grow, but more slowly than the seasonal norm, and the speed of sales fell behind last year’s pace. 

U.S. home values grew 1.2% on a monthly basis in April, and are now 4.4% higher than a year ago. That’s a slight slowdown from 4.6% annual growth seen last month. The typical U.S. home is now worth $359,402. 

The share of listings with a price cut shot up to 22.4% in April, the highest rate for April in the past six years, and a significant step up from 17.2% a year earlier. Price cuts can be a sign of weakening demand that foretells softer price growth ahead, or they can be a natural feeling out process as sellers and their agents come up with their pricing strategy. The latter scenario becomes more likely in a rapidly changing market like we see today, with relatively few recent sales to compare against. 

Homes that sold in April sold in 13 days, which is fast by historical standards. However, that is three days slower than last April, the first time since June 2023 that the speed of sales fell behind the previous year’s pace. 

Sellers are continuing to join the market, as inventory and new listings both posted solid gains monthly and compared to last year. Buyers had a lot more options to choose from, as inventory rose 6.4% from March to April and rose 18% over last year, the second-largest annual increase since at least 2019. They also had more fresh options, with new listings up nearly 11% month over month and rising almost 16% year over year. 

Zillow’s new market heat index is a new way to visualize how participants are feeling – buyers’ urgency or sellers’ confidence – as they shop and transact. Sellers have a slight edge nationwide, though less of one than in recent years. Texas and Florida dominate the best places for buyers, while Buffalo, the Bay Area and the Northeast rank among the best areas for sellers.

Home values

The value of a typical home in the U.S. is $359,402, up 4.4% from a year ago. The typical monthly mortgage payment, assuming 20% down, is $1,908, which is 11.6% higher than last year and up 113% since pre-pandemic.

• Home values climbed month over month in each of the 50 largest metro areas in April. Gains were biggest in San Jose (2.9%), San Francisco (2.4%), Seattle (2.1%), Milwaukee (2.1%) and Buffalo (1.9%).
• Home values are up from year-ago levels in 47 of the 50 largest metro areas. Annual price gains are highest in San Jose (12.5%), Hartford (12.3%), San Diego (12%), Los Angeles (9.4%) and Boston (9.1%).
• Home values are down from year-ago levels in three major metro areas: New Orleans (-7%), Austin (-3.6%) and San Antonio (-1.8%).

Inventory

• New listings of existing homes increased by 10.8% month over month in April, and by 15.5% compared to last year.
• New listings were 24.7% below pre-pandemic levels.
• Total inventory — the number of listings active at any time during the month — in April increased by 6.4% from last month.
• There were 18% more listings active in April compared to last year.
• Inventory levels were 35.7% lower than typical pre-pandemic levels for the month.

Price cuts

• 22.4% of listings in April had a price cut. That is 1.9 percentage points (ppts) higher than the previous month.
• There are 5.2 ppts more listings with a price cut compared to last year.

Sales

• Newly pending listings increased by 6.5% in April from the prior month, and by 4.4% from last year. 
• Median days to pending — the typical time from initial list date to pending status for homes that went under contract — was at 13 days in April. That is steady from the previous month and three days longer than last April. 

Rents

• Asking rents increased by 0.6% month over month in April. The pre-pandemic average for this time of year is 0.7% growth.
• Rents are now up 3.6% from last year.
• Rents are up from year-ago levels in 48 of the 50 largest metro areas. Annual rent increases are highest in Providence (7.7%), Louisville (7%), Buffalo (6.5%), Cleveland (6.5%) and Hartford (6.2%).

Read more about the rental market in Zillow’s April Rental Market Report.