Homebuyers Can Benefit From Growing Inventory but the Iran War May Provide Further Economic Uncertainty

It's officially the first day of spring, and with it comes anticipation of the spring selling season.

Realtor.com® economists had identified the national Best Time to Sell Week as April 12-18, but now it's accompanied by economic uncertainty.

"The housing market is facing significant recent headwinds: Geopolitical tensions from the Iran war are pressuring gas prices and supply chains; mortgage rates are rising for a third consecutive week; and meanwhile the Federal Reserve again signaled that future rate cuts are not imminent," says Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel.

The housing market is caught between long-term improvements and short-term instability, according to the Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends Report.

Homebuyers are in for better conditions than in recent years. Inventory is up and asking prices are down, but mortgage rates jumped. The average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan is 6.22% as of March 19, according to Freddie Mac.

This week's mortgage interest rate is significantly higher than the week prior, when rates averaged 6.11%.

Inventory rising

The number of homes for sale has exceeded 2025 levels, giving homebuyers more options. Active inventory rose 5.6% year over year, but the pace of inventory recovery has slowed.

Krimmel points out that "one reason inventory growth could be slowing is because the pace of sales may be slightly picking up compared to earlier in the year."

New listings growth has been up and down so far this year. The number of new home listings was up 2.4% in February, but overall it fell 1.4% year over year.

New listings is a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale. Economists say lower mortgage rates compared with this time last year should lead to more sellers listing their homes, but "rising rates over the last three weeks and increased economic uncertainty due to the Iran war could be holding some would-be sellers back for now."

Krimmel says that will be the point to watch in the coming weeks and months.

The median home spent 57 days on the market as of this week, which is one day quicker than last week, but still four days slower than this same time in 2025. Overall, homes are spending five days longer on the market year to date.

The median list price has been in flat or negative growth—falling 2.3% year over year—marking the 21st consecutive week. This is good news for buyers who are also seeing the year-over-year price per square foot metric drop to -2.6%, which is the lowest on record in Realtor.com data dating back to 2017.