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Three of the nation’s largest housing markets are seeing a sharp increase in the number of homes for sale, giving buyers more options even as the overall U.S. housing market shows signs of cooling.
In January, 46 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas had more homes on the market than a year earlier. Seattle saw the biggest increase, with its stock rising 32.4%.
Charlotte, North Carolina, followed with 28.6%, while Washington, DC was in third place with a 26.8% increase, according to to Realtor.com’s January 2026 Monthly report on housing market trends.
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People gather in Kerry Park to see the Space Needle at dusk in Seattle, June 21, 2025. (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
Homes in Seattle took about 15 days longer to sell than they did a year ago, while homes in Charlotte stayed on the market about 12 days longer.
Seattle’s growing supply is also being affected by layoffs in the technology sector, said Michael Orbino, managing broker at Compass.
“Several companies, including T-Mobile, Microsoft and Amazon, are repositioning their workforces,” Orbino said in a statement. “This is not a large portion of inventory, but often puts buyers on pause mode, which has the effect of slowing absorption, increasing inventory.”
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An aerial view of Charlotte, NC (iStock)
In several other urban areas, the number of homes for sale had also increased significantly.
Louisville, Kentucky, rose 25.6%, while Las Vegas and Indianapolis each rose 25.4%. Baltimore saw its stock rise 24.1%, San Jose rose 23.3% and Cincinnati rose 21%, Realtor.com reported.
Regionally, the West posted the largest year-over-year inventory growth in January, up 12.2%. The Midwest followed closely at 10.3%, while the South followed closely at 10.1%. The Northeast lagged behind, with inventories up just 6.6%, the report said.
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The US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 26, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Nationally, housing stock is up 10% from a year ago, but the pace of recovery is slowing. Year-over-year inventory growth has declined for nine consecutive months, and new listings are up just 0.7% compared to last year, Krimmel said.
Inventory remained more than 17% below 2017 to 2019 levels in January, according to Realtor.com.
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“Even though January is the weak season for residential construction, it is an important time to take stock,” Krimmel added. “The data and trends coming in now will set the stage for how the market could behave once business picks up again in the spring.”
