Texas leads nation for housing inventory growth

Plus: Austin included as Google brings real estate listings back to mobile search

May 19, 2026

🔐 It's Tuesday! Time to lock in.

Today’s newsletter is 696 words—a 2.5-minute read.

1. Redfin changes pre-marketed listings display

Redfin on Monday launched Redfin Early Access, a new search category featuring homes not available on other major real estate sites.

Redfin Early Access includes listings exclusive to Redfin, along with pre-market homes from Compass’ portfolio of brands through the companies’ exclusive national partnership.

The feature gives buyers an early look at thousands of homes before they hit the broader market, while allowing sellers to gauge pricing and buyer demand ahead of a full public listing.

“A lot of homeowners want to sell, but are not ready to commit to full exposure,” said Redfin Chief of Real Estate Services Jason Aleem. “Giving sellers more control over how they enter the market gives them more confidence. Redfin Early Access lets sellers test the market before going all-in, while giving buyers a first look at homes they won’t find on other major sites.”

2. Builder confidence ticked up in May

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose three points to 37 in May, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index released yesterday.

32% of builders cut prices in May, down from 36% in April. The average price reduction was 6%, up slightly from 5% April. Meanwhile, 61% of builders used sales incentives in May, up from 60% in April and marking the 14th consecutive month above the 60% threshold.

All three components of the index improved in May. Current sales conditions rose to 40, prospective buyer traffic increased to 25, and sales expectations for the next six months climbed to 45.

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3. Catch up quick

🤔 Nearly half of college students would swap their education for a home. (Clever)

🏡 Home sellers lost $1.49 billion because their agent also represented the buyer. (Zillow)

✝️ Pope Leo to launch first AI encyclical with Anthropic co-founder. (APNews)

💸 1 in 4 say homeownership is hurting their quality of life. (Hippo)

📱 Austin included as Google brings real estate listings back to mobile search. (MDP)

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4. A new home gains a 10-year cost edge over resale

According to Realtor.com’s analysis, buyers of newly constructed homes could save an average of $25,335 over the first 10 years of ownership compared to buyers of 20-year-old homes.

These savings are largely driven by lower energy use and reduced replacement costs for major systems such as HVAC units, roofs, and water heaters.

In 16 of the 300 largest metropolitan areas, the 10-year savings from new construction fully offset the price premium over existing homes. Among those metros, two are in Texas: San Antonio–New Braunfels and Abilene, where the 10-year savings total $18,227.

5. Texas leads nation for housing inventory growth

Texas ranks first, with 17 of the 50 fastest-growing ZIP codes, according to an analysis by RentCafe that reviewed housing inventory and population growth across 32,000 ZIP codes from 2014 to 2023.

The top-performing ZIP code in Texas was 77441 in Fulshear, a suburb of Houston, where housing inventory surged by 391%, ranking fourth nationwide, while population grew by approximately 483% over the past decade.

Source: RentCafe

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