Shortage of inventory and high home prices continue to make headlines, and the gap between what buyers want and what is available on the market continues to grow.
Home buyers are encountering difficulty in locating a home in their price range. In fact, 58.5% of Americans in the market to buy a home over the past two years said the process was either somewhat or very competitive, according to a new report from Trulia.
Trulia rated the top 10 mismatched markets to show the difficulty homebuyers face when finding a home. Market mismatch is the company’s measure of search interest versus available listings. It’s the difference between the price point where the bulk of searches occur and the average price point of listed properties. For example, if 60% of buyers are searching for starter homes but only 40% of listings are starter homes, the market mismatch score for starter homes would be 20.
The greatest deficit occurred in starter homes and trade-up homes with shortfalls of 5.7 and 5.3 percentage points respectively. In the premium price category, however, there was a surplus of 11 percentage points.
Of the largest 100 metros in the U.S., here are the top 10 most mismatched markets and their score:
10. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida – 12.2
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 28.9%
- Versus starter home listings: 16.7%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 30.9%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 24.8%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 40.2%
- Versus premium home listings: 58.5%
9. San Antonio, Texas – 12.3
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 12.2%
- Versus starter home listings: 5.8%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 32.5%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 20.5%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 55.3%
- Versus premium home listings: 73.3%
8. Grand Rapids, Michigan – 13.1
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 28.4%
- Versus starter home listings: 20.4%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 29.4%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 17.7%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 42.2%
- Versus premium home listings: 61.9%
7. Greenville, South Carolina – 13.4
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 20.5%
- Versus starter home listings: 13.3%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 31.7%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 18.9%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 47.8%
- Versus premium home listings: 67.8%
6. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida – 14
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 23.9%
- Versus starter home listings: 14%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 34.2%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 23.1%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 41.9%
- Versus premium home listings: 62.9%
5. Fort Worth, Texas – 14.3
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 19.5%
- Versus starter home listings: 9.6%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 28.9%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 17.3%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 51.7%
- Versus premium home listings: 73.1%
4. Raleigh, North Carolina – 14.9
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 24%
- Versus starter home listings: 10%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 37.4%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 29.1%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 38.6%
- Versus premium home listings: 60.9%
3. Charlotte, North Carolina – 15.1
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 20.3%
- Versus starter home listings: 11.3%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 34.1%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 20.4%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 45.6%
- Versus premium home listings: 68.3%
2. Houston, Texas – 17.3
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 17%
- Versus starter home listings: 5.7%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 33.8%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 19.1%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 49.2%
- Versus premium home listings: 75.2%
1. Dallas, Texas – 17.5
- Percentage of searches for starter homes: 18.1%
- Versus starter home listings: 6.2%
- Percentage of searches for trade-up homes: 32%
- Versus trade-up home listings: 17.6%
- Percentage of searches for premium homes: 49.9%
- Versus premium home listings: 76.2%
