The current U.S. housing market is a rollercoaster: Mortgage rates are high, housing is in demand, and yet experts can't seem to agree on whether or not now is the right time to sell or buy a home.
Creditnews Research, an independent research house, analyzed the top 100 largest metros in the U.S. by population to determine the slowest-selling housing markets in the country — or where it takes the longest for homes to sell. The study also used data sourced from Zillow to establish the number of days before a listing goes into sale-pending status.
All but two of the top 10 slowest-selling metros in the study are larger Sun Belt cities, according to Creditnews Research.
Of the slowest-selling metros, seven are in the South, and three are in Texas alone. The study states that a part of the reason for this reshuffling in America's red-hot markets is the divergence in housing inventory.
Cities in states like Texas that were once considered booming during the covid-19 pandemic are starting to cool off.
Austin, Texas is the slowest-selling U.S. metro area
Austin took the top spot in Creditnews Research's ranking of the slowest-selling U.S. metro areas.
It takes 66 days for a home listing in the city to reach sale-pending status — longer than any other metro area in the country.
The average home price in Austin has steadily increased since 1998, according to a 2023 SmartAsset study. Home values have soared 354% over the past 25 years.
While Austin is continuing to rise as a thriving tech hub, with companies like Dell and AMD keeping headquarters in and around the metro area, home-buying in the Texas city seems to have started to cool off.
The Creditnews Research study also found that housing inventory has increased 29.32% since before the pandemic, and that between January 2020 and January 2024, the median listing time jumped from 23 to 66 days.
10 slowest-selling U.S. metro areas
- Austin, Texas
- McAllen, Texas
- Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
- San Antonio, Texas
- New Orleans, La.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Cape Coral, Fla.
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Deltona, Fla.
- New York, N.Y.
McAllen, Texas has the second slowest-selling housing market in the U.S., according to Creditnews Research.
Listings in McAllen took 53 days to go to pending, down 36.14% compared to January 2020.
The city's housing inventory has risen by 26.12% since 2020, according to the study.
Thanks to its proximity to the Mexican border, McAllen is a major center for international trade, tourism, and retail.
The city is also known for its strong Hispanic culture and as a haven for those crossing the border from Mexico to Texas, according to U.S. News and World Report.
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