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Our research team releases monthly housing trends reports These regular reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In addition, we continue to give readers more timely weekly updates, an effort that began in response to the rapid changes in the economy and housing. Generally, you can look forward to a and the latest weekly housing data on Thursdays and weekly video updates from our economists. Here鈥檚 what the housing market looked like over the past week.

What this week’s data means:

This week, the housing market looked similar to last year in terms of prices and time on market, but inventory and price reductions continue to outpace year-ago levels. Prices fell by the lowest margin since November last week, but continued to hover near year-ago levels. The housing market has not offered many exciting developments over the last year as home prices and mortgage rates remain stubbornly high. However, ample for-sale inventory and climbing price reductions suggest that while buyers may see unaffordable housing costs at first glance, sellers are likely more flexible than in years past. The spring typically brings both buyers and sellers into the market, giving hopeful homeowners and movers an opportunity to find the right home for their next phase of life.

As discussed in the recent Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends report, the recent rounds of federal layoffs have the potential to impact metro areas with the highest rates of federal employment. The top five metros, namely Washington D.C., Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City, Baltimore and San Diego, have not seen any noticeable shifts from recent trends yet. Any impact of layoffs will likely trickle in over the coming weeks and months as recently-unemployed workers find new jobs in new cities, or potentially look for more affordable housing options if their current mortgage becomes unaffordable.

Key national findings:

• The median list price fell by 0.3% year-over-year
  This marks the 40th consecutive week that the national median home list price has either remained steady or declined compared to the same week last year. While the price drop remains moderate, it signals a continuation of the trend toward a more balanced market. Controlling for the size of home, the median list price per square foot increased by 1.3% annually, suggesting there are more smaller homes on the market compared to last year. The share of homes with a price reduction increased by 0.6% this week, suggesting more sellers are adjusting prices to attract buyers.

• New listings鈥攁 measure of sellers putting homes up for sale鈥攊ncreased 0.1%
  Newly listed inventory grew for the eighth consecutive week, signaling that sellers are gaining confidence in listing their homes despite persistently high mortgage rates. However, this week鈥檚 increase was very marginal. This metric will be important to keep an eye on as the spring blooms, as it could signal increased seller hesitancy this year.听

• Active inventory increased, with for-sale homes 27.6% above year-ago levels
  The number of homes for sale has now been higher than the previous year for 69 consecutive weeks. This continued rise in active inventory is in part due to less active buyers. With more choices available, buyers can afford to be more selective, putting pressure on sellers to price competitively.

• Homes spent 4 days more on the market compared with this time last year
  Homes are taking longer to sell than the previous year, a trend that has persisted for 45 consecutive weeks. A slower market pace is good for buyers, as it allows for time to deliberate between the numerous for-sale options on the market.

National data summary:

Metro-level findings (week of March 1):

The top five metros in terms of Federal employment share are Washington D.C., Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City, Baltimore and San Diego. These metros can be broken into two general groups with Oklahoma City, Baltimore and Virginia Beach priced lower than the U.S. median, and D.C. and San Diego priced higher. The more affordable metros tend towards higher price growth and lower inventory growth compared to the more expensive areas, with some exceptions. San Diego and D.C. face the dynamics of more expensive markets, with lower price growth and higher inventory growth than the national norm.

What to look for:

A dramatic uptick in unemployment can have noticeable consequences for the housing market. Overall, higher unemployment would lead to more for-sale inventory and an uptick in new listing inventory as homeowners increasingly list their homes for sale, and homebuyers are harder to come by. Time on market would extend as ample inventory leads to longer sale timelines, especially with a softening labor market. Eventually, the impact would lead to falling home prices as sellers price lower to compete with other sellers and attract buyer attention.听

This Week:

Data suggest that the recent federal lay-offs have not yet made their way to the housing market in the country鈥檚 most federally-employed metros. Listing prices climbed annually in Baltimore, but remained flat or fell annually in the other metros, in line with recent trends. For-sale inventory grew in these markets, remaining fairly steady with the previous week. Time on market also kept to recent trends.听听

Notably, most of these markets outpaced national inventory growth last week. Inventory levels remain well below pre-pandemic (2019) levels in Baltimore (-48.1%), Virginia Beach (-54.4%), San Diego (-38.6%) and D.C. (-28.1%), which resulted in rather dramatic annual inventory growth in February and in recent weeks.听

While the U.S. market continues to slow, Washington D.C., Oklahoma City and Baltimore saw market pace quicken annually last week. Virginia Beach and San Diego slowed, tracking more closely to the national trend.

Unemployment rates in these markets were among the lowest of the 50 largest markets. Only San Diego had an unemployment rate ranking outside of the top 6. The strong local labor markets evidenced by lower unemployment rates will likely help workers find other opportunities in these areas, cushioning some of the impact of the layoffs.