New real estate data from Zillow finds home sales and new listings fell in May. The Zillow May Market Report reveals new listings fell below 2025 levels, down 0.8 percent month over month and 4.1 percent lower than last year. Sales trended up from April, rising 4.8 percent month over month, but fell below the historic trend line, declining 2.9 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, overall inventory growth continued to rise on an annual basis, extending an unbroken streak of annual growth to 30 straight months, with 1.36 million homes for sale nationwide in May. However, the pace slowed and is trending toward negative territory, increasing just 1 percent from last year, the report stated.
Typical home values rose slightly, up 0.6 percent month over month to $368,720. Combined with higher mortgage rates, that pushed the cost of a typical mortgage to $1,861, assuming a 20 percent down payment and excluding taxes and insurance. That is an increase of 1.1 percent from April and 3.1 percent lower than a year earlier, the report added. Mortgage rates remain lower than last year. Even with annual home-value growth of 0.8 percent, typical mortgage costs are still 3.1 percent lower than they were in May 2025.
“May housing results were disappointing for those hanging on to hope of a stronger year for sales,” said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow. “Inventory is rising, but weekly data suggests it could flatline in the next four weeks. A June peak for options home shoppers have to choose from would be early on the calendar, possibly foreshadowing slower sales in the second half of the year.”
Homes took a median of 18 days to go pending in May. That was one day longer than a year earlier and one day longer than in April. The share of listings with a price cut in May was 23.9 percent, compared with 25.7 percent a year earlier and 23.5 percent in April. Nearly 30 percent of homes sold above list price in April, the most recent data available. That compares with 30.1 percent a year earlier and 25.4 percent in March.
The typical rent nationwide is $1,951, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index. That is 2 percent higher than a year earlier and up 0.5 percent from April. The report revealed that 39.6 percent of rental listings on Zillow offered a concession in May. That compares with 35.1 percent a year earlier and 39.8 percent in April.
