During the Pandemic Housing Boom, housing demand was running so hot—and homes sold so quickly—listings barely even registered as active inventory. In February 2022, there were only 346,511 active homes for sale in the United States, according to Realtor.com’s data series. That was a staggering -68.5% below the 1,102,660 active listings in February 2019. Fast forward to today. Among the nation’s 200 largest housing markets, there are 66 markets where active housing inventory for sale at the end of February 2026 exceeded the levels those respective markets had in February 2019.
Inventory in our market in Tampa Bay is up 5.3% year over year and up 11.4% over pre-pandemic levels.
Source: ResiClub
Mortgage Rates
Inch Higher Again
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up this week to 6.22% but remains nearly half a percentage point lower than the same time last year. Potential homebuyers are poised for a more affordable spring homebuying season than last with the market experiencing improvements in purchase applications and pending home sales.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.22% as of March 19, 2026, up from last week when it averaged 6.11%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.67%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.54%, up from last week when it averaged 5.50%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.83%.
