Listings are back to summer 2019. Sales are not.

The easy story this summer was that inventory is surging. Across the 31 cities we track in metro Atlanta, Denver, Salt Lake City and Austin, it isn't. Homes for sale from June to August averaged 48,814, essentially the same as the 48,772 of summer 2019.

What collapsed is sales. These cities sold 17,307 homes this summer against 26,809 in the same three months of 2019, down 35.4%, and every one of the 31 sold fewer. The market is not flooded. It is thin: a seller faces about as many competing listings as in 2019, and roughly a third fewer buyers.

Why summer 2019: it is the last summer before the pandemic, and comparing the same three months takes the seasons out of it.

Listings came back, buyers did not

Outside Austin, listings are flat or lower than in 2019 while sales fell by a third or more. Austin is the one place where there really are more homes for sale, and even there sales fell 30.0%.

Metro Atlanta: fewer listings and far fewer sales

Atlanta's eight cities have 13.3% fewer homes for sale than in 2019 and sold 40.0% fewer, the deepest drop of the four metros. Marietta sold 47.8% fewer homes and Johns Creek 46.3% fewer. In the city of Atlanta a listing now takes 57 days to go under contract, against 35 in 2019.

On the map: Buckhead

Here is how to look up your own ZIP on the Nimbus map, and how far back its history goes:

CCSound onFull

Metro Denver: the same listings, a third fewer sales

Denver's eight cities have almost exactly the homes for sale they had in 2019 (-2.1%) and sold 36.1% fewer. The city of Denver alone sold 3,955 homes in summer 2019 and 2,406 this summer, down 39.2%, and a listing takes 28 days to go under contract instead of 17.

Metro Salt Lake City: every city down by a fifth or more

The seven Salt Lake cities sold 37.2% fewer homes with 8.9% fewer listings. South Jordan held up best at 21.3% fewer sales; Draper, Sandy, West Valley City and West Jordan are all down more than 40%. Days on market rose in all seven cities.

Metro Austin: the one place listings really are up

Austin is the exception. Its eight cities have 22.7% more homes for sale than in 2019, led by San Marcos (+69.0%) and the city of Austin (+28.8%), and sold 30.0% fewer. The city of Austin's listings now take 57 days to go under contract, against 15 in 2019. Georgetown, San Marcos and Kyle sold under 10% fewer homes, the smallest drops of all 31 cities. One likely reason: new construction there often sells directly from builders, which Redfin's listing data does not fully count.

Every city, ranked

All 31 cities, ranked by the change in homes sold

SortBiggest changeBusiestBy metro

ShowAll 31Metro AustinMetro Salt Lake CityMetro DenverMetro Atlanta

All 31 cities, ranked by the change in homes sold. Sorted by biggest change.

Place	Homes sold, summer 2026	vs summer 2019
GeorgetownMetro Austin	674	▼down 6.5%
San MarcosMetro Austin	215	▼down 7.7%
KyleMetro Austin	251	▼down 9.1%
South JordanMetro Salt Lake City	398	▼down 21.3%
LittletonMetro Denver	694	▼down 27.9%
ArvadaMetro Denver	528	▼down 29.4%
Sandy SpringsMetro Atlanta	369	▼down 30.9%
AustinMetro Austin	2,725	▼down 32.1%
CentennialMetro Denver	417	▼down 32.6%
RoswellMetro Atlanta	359	▼down 32.6%
AuroraMetro Denver	1,420	▼down 32.8%
DecaturMetro Atlanta	95	▼down 34.5%
Salt Lake CityMetro Salt Lake City	540	▼down 35.6%
LakewoodMetro Denver	511	▼down 36.8%
LeanderMetro Austin	372	▼down 36.9%
PflugervilleMetro Austin	223	▼down 37.4%
AlpharettaMetro Atlanta	266	▼down 38.1%
DenverMetro Denver	2,406	▼down 39.2%
MurrayMetro Salt Lake City	136	▼down 39.8%
AtlantaMetro Atlanta	1,723	▼down 41.1%
West JordanMetro Salt Lake City	295	▼down 41.8%
Cedar ParkMetro Austin	252	▼down 41.9%
WestminsterMetro Denver	354	▼down 42.4%
ThorntonMetro Denver	469	▼down 42.6%
West Valley CityMetro Salt Lake City	258	▼down 42.8%
SmyrnaMetro Atlanta	240	▼down 42.9%
SandyMetro Salt Lake City	226	▼down 43.5%
Round RockMetro Austin	305	▼down 43.6%
DraperMetro Salt Lake City	134	▼down 43.7%
Johns CreekMetro Atlanta	251	▼down 46.3%
MariettaMetro Atlanta	201	▼down 47.8%

The rate

The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.95% in the week of September 17, 2026, against 3.58% in late August 2019. That gap is the likeliest reason for the split: owners who locked in near 3% have little reason to sell, and buyers at today's rate can afford less house for the same payment.

What to do with it

If you are selling. Price for a smaller pool of buyers. You are competing with about the same number of listings as in 2019, homes are taking longer to go under contract almost everywhere, and an overpriced listing now sits.

If you own a rental. Low turnover keeps would-be buyers renting longer. Check your own ZIP on the map before you set next year's rent.

If you are buying. Austin is where the supply leverage is. Elsewhere, fewer buyers mean more room to negotiate even though there are not more homes to choose from.

What this is not

This compares two three-month windows seven years apart. It is not a trend line and it is not a forecast. Redfin counts homes sold through the listing services, so builder sales, which matter most in fast-growing suburbs like Austin's, are undercounted. City totals can also differ from whole-metro figures: in Denver, listings across the whole metro are up while the eight core cities are flat, because the new supply sits outside them.

The point is the split between the two numbers. Listings are back. Buyers are not.