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Even as the housing market slows, homes that check every box are still gone in days

Sellers who nail their pricing and presentation can walk away with strong results

Written by Zillow on April 30, 2026

The U.S. housing market is running on two distinct tracks, and the distance between them is growing. A new Zillow analysis finds that nearly 1 in 5 homes sold within seven days in February 2026. In the fastest markets, more than 1 in 3 did.

At the same time, the typical sold home went pending after 19 days on the market, while the median active listing had been sitting for 56 days — a 37-day gap that is the widest for any March since 2020.

That gap tells the story of a market in transition, where standout homes still move quickly while everything else waits.

As Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng shared with The Wall Street Journal, during the pandemic “people were buying homes indiscriminately.” Just about every home sold quickly regardless of price or condition.

The bar is higher now. Buyers have more options and more leverage, shifting negotiating power away from sellers whose homes don’t stand out immediately.

Competition is concentrating on a narrower set of standout listings, while pricing and presentation matter more than they have in years. In January, just 20.4% of homes sold above list price, down 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

While the market is generally friendlier to buyers than in recent years, the challenge is that the homes most worth having are still moving fast. In markets like St. Louis, Seattle and Washington, D.C., a well-priced, move-in-ready home can be gone within a week.

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*Who do you know who is thinking of selling or moving?*

GOP Lawmakers Urge Treasury To Index Capital Gains to Inflation, Targeting the Hidden Home Equity Tax

By Allaire Conte

April 30, 2026

The capital gains tax has returned to the forefront of national policy debate.

Republican lawmakers are eyeing avenues to lower the tax burden when an investor sells an asset, Bloomberg reports, as concerns about inflation dominate the news cycle heading into a decisive midterm election.

Nearly a third of Americans report inflation and high prices as their top financial concern, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. And on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), framed capital gains tax reform as a direct response.

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*Who do you know who is thinking of selling?*

Upcoming Public Hearing

April 22 City Council Meeting

On February 5, 2026, the California Coastal Commission approved the City's STR Ordinance (Ordinance No. 2022-15 and Ordinance No. 2022-16) with two modifications:

1. Reducing the three-night minimum stay to a two-night minimum stay for non-hosted short-term rentals.

2. Adding the two-night minimum stay requirement for non-hosted units to Chapter 30.50 of the Municipal Code.

On April 22, 2026, starting at 6:00 PM the City Council will hold a public hearing to consider the introduction of City Council Ordinance No. 2026-08 to adopt amendments to the City's Short-term Rental Ordinance as required by the California Coastal Commission.

Meeting Materials: City Council Agenda Packet

Local Coastal Program Amendment Notice of Availability

The draft Ordinance is available for public review from April 14, 2026- May 26, 2026.

Short-term Rental Ordinance No. 2026-08

Short Term Rental Overview

Short-term Rental Permits

As of May 15, 2025, there are a total of 443 permitted short-term rentals in the City.

95.9% of existing short-term rentals are located within the Coastal Zone.

79.5% of existing short-term rentals are located west of the Interstate-5.

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