San Antonio experienced a significant decrease in new home listings in December, marking the largest year-over-year drop among the nation’s 50 biggest housing markets. According to Redfin data, there were 2,120 new residential listings last month, which is about 20 percent lower than the same period a year ago. This decline follows another weak performance in November when San Antonio saw a 17.8 percent drop and ranked third nationwide for declines.
Across the United States, new listings fell by just 4.9 percent over the same period, indicating that San Antonio’s pullback is more pronounced compared to other major cities.
The city continues to face one of the most imbalanced housing markets in the country. As of December, there were 102.5 percent more sellers than buyers in San Antonio—the fifth-largest gap among major U.S. metros. Many potential buyers are choosing to rent instead of buying homes due to current mortgage rates.
“The rental market is quite appealing right now,” said Redfin economist Daryl Fairweather. She explained that stable rents and high borrowing costs are discouraging purchases despite slight decreases in rates. Fairweather also noted that San Antonio’s large veteran population, which often depends on low down payment loans, is particularly affected by rate increases.
Other Texas cities are experiencing similar challenges. Austin had the nation’s highest seller-buyer imbalance last month with 128 percent more sellers than buyers and an 11.4 percent decline in new listings. Dallas was also near the top with an imbalance of 86.8 percent more sellers than buyers—a situation partly attributed to years of strong homebuilding activity.
These imbalances have led to longer selling periods for homes across Texas’ major metros. In December, San Antonio homes spent a median of 99 days on the market—up by 17 days from a year earlier—making it second only to Houston for increases in time on market among large cities. In Austin, homes stayed listed even longer at a median of 106 days.
Sales figures reflect these trends as well: In November, closed sales in San Antonio dropped nearly 25 percent year-over-year—from 2,683 closings in November 2024 to just 2,082 in November 2025.
High mortgage rates continue to be a central issue for both buyers and sellers; over half of U.S. mortgage holders have locked-in rates at or below four percent while average thirty-year rates hovered around six point one percent at the end of January (source: Freddie Mac). This difference has contributed to many homeowners delaying plans to sell their properties.
Despite these challenges, there was a small increase in pending sales during December—up by about one point one percent compared with last year—which could signal some renewed interest from buyers moving forward.
