Nearly three-quarters of the 100 largest U.S. metros -- including some of the priciest like San Jose, Calif., and San Francisco -- are more affordable than this time last year, despite a continued upward swing in median home prices, according to two new research reports released Thursday by realtor.com®.

The trends are based on realtor.com® 's May 2019 monthly housing trend report and REALTORS and realtor.com Affordability Distribution Curve and Score Report, which showed increasing inventory, rising wages, and declining mortgage rates have offset slowing price increases in some local areas, making a larger share of homes affordable to buyers -- especially in the mid-to upper-tier price range.

Realtor.com® May data shows the U.S. median listing price continued its upward hike, increasing 6% year-over-year to $315,000 -- a new record high. However, the 6% year-over-year increase in the median listing price was the slowest pace of growth since April 2015. National inventory grew by 3%, and homes typically spent 53 days on the market-- one day less than last May.

The most dramatic change in the U.S. housing market landscape is affordability, which realtor.com® defines as the share of for-sale homes a buyer is able to afford in their market at their income. Driven by inventory growth and lower mortgage rates, 74 out of the nation's 100 largest metros became more affordable in April 2019 compared to the previous year. This trend is a rapid acceleration from last month when only 44 metros were more affordable than the previous year.

"Lower mortgage rates, higher wages and more homes for sale have helped counteract rising home prices, and ultimately, made it so that buyers are able to afford more than last year," said Danielle Hale, realtor.com's chief economist. "However, the boost in affordability has yet to translate into more home sales perhaps because--while the shift in trend is welcome, the current monthly savings are small and some buyers may be waiting for markets to tip further in their favor."

Compared to national trends, the 10 markets with the greatest increases in affordability were San Jose, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; San Francisco; Lakeland, Fla.; Atlanta; Portland, Ore.; Cape Coral, Fla.; Austin, Texas; and Dallas. These markets are distinguished by rising incomes, decreasing listing prices, and a significant increase in available homes for sale. On average, incomes grew an estimated 6% year-over-year, compared to the 3.5% increase the top 100 largest metros saw. At the same time, median home listing prices fell an average of 2%, and inventory increased an average of 26%. This compared to 4.4% price and 6.5% inventory growth in the top 100 metros.

Hale added, "Despite the encouraging trends, entry-level buyers will likely continue to struggle to find homes in their price range as the majority of the inventory gains continue to be in mid-to upper-tier homes in more expensive markets."

In April, the number of homes priced above $750,000 -- more than double the national median -- increased 11% year-over-year, while the number homes priced below $200,000 decreased by 8% year-over-year. Similarly, increases in affordability are predominantly focused in pricier markets, especially along the West Coast. For example, San Jose, one of the nation's most expensive metros, saw the greatest boost in affordability, but it was principally driven by improvements for 80th and 90th percentile income earners. Meaning, San Jose became more affordable compared to this time last year, but the majority of affordability increases were only felt by the area's top income earners.

Metros With Greatest Increases in Affordability

Metro
April Affordability
Score
YoY Affordability
Score
May Median Listing
Price
May Median Days
on Market
San Jose-Sunnyvale et al, Calif.
0.5
0.11
$1,167,444
28
Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
0.94
0.11
$288,000
59
San Francisco-Oakland et al, Calif.
0.54
0.09
$954,500
28
Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
0.82
0.08
$231,500
64
Atlanta-Sandy Springs et al, Ga.
0.8
0.07
$335,000
47
Portland-Vancouver et al, Ore.-Wash.
0.59
0.07
$474,975
34
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
0.69
0.07
$299,900
91
Austin-Round Rock, Texas
0.7
0.07
$369,995
46
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
0.68
0.06
$350,000
43
Charlotte-Concord et al, N.C.-S.C.
0.75
0.06
$329,450
49
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
0.56
0.06
$754,500
60
Raleigh, N.C.
0.87
0.06
$349,950
45
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
0.69
0.06
$315,000
57
Madison, Wis.
0.86
0.06
$339,500
40
Jackson, Miss.
0.86
0.06
$259,000
71
Tampa-St. Petersburg et al, Fla.
0.77
0.05
$279,950
58
Palm Bay-Melbourne et al, Fla.
0.79
0.05
$270,018
61
Jacksonville, Fla.
0.74
0.05
$315,000
60
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.
0.91
0.05
$279,900
45
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
0.8
0.05
$289,900
31
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
0.68
0.05
$511,950
29
Colorado Springs, Colo.
0.62
0.05
$379,900
30
Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.
0.9
0.05
$223,225
60
Salt Lake City, Utah
0.7
0.05
$436,250
31
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
0.7
0.05
$350,000
46
Nashville-Davidson et al, Tenn.
0.72
0.05
$355,495
37
Washington et al, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.
0.87
0.04
$462,250
34
Stockton-Lodi, Calif.
0.62
0.04
$425,475
35
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.
1.08
0.04
$229,188
52
Riverside et al, Calif.
0.62
0.04
$410,450
50
New Haven-Milford, Conn.
0.9
0.04
$279,900
50
Minneapolis et al, Minn.-Wis.
0.81
0.04
$360,000
34
Miami-Fort Lauderdale et al, Fla.
0.62
0.04
$399,000
88
Deltona-Daytona Beach et al, Fla.
0.62
0.04
$294,500
73
Allentown-Bethlehem et al, Pa.-N.J.
1
0.04
$222,450
54
Los Angeles-Long Beach et al, Calif.
0.37
0.04
$769,500
42
Springfield, Mass.
0.83
0.04
$279,000
37
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.
0.84
0.04
$269,000
50
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.
0.97
0.04
$258,250
36
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.
0.39
0.03
$699,925
31
North Port-Sarasota et al, Fla.
0.66
0.03
$359,900
86
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
1.07
0.03
$219,900
45
Boise City, Idaho
0.64
0.03
$369,900
30
Sacramento--Roseville et al, Calif.
0.57
0.03
$493,725
35
Portland-South Portland, Maine
0.7
0.03
$379,450
47
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.
0.96
0.03
$334,500
43
Tucson, Ariz.
0.67
0.02
$298,250
52
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
0.68
0.02
$295,000
49
New York-Newark et al, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
0.54
0.02
$564,500
52
Little Rock et al, Ark.
1.03
0.02
$194,900
53
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
0.72
0.02
$319,900
43
Knoxville, Tenn.
0.77
0.02
$289,900
56
Hartford-West Hartford et al, Conn.
0.98
0.02
$279,900
46
Fresno, Calif.
0.66
0.02
$322,500
42
Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
0.68
0.02
$361,250
43
Columbia, S.C.
0.98
0.02
$235,000
53
Chicago et al, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
0.86
0.02
$311,386
42
Albuquerque, N.M.
0.81
0.02
$269,995
46
Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.
0.69
0.02
$329,995
31
Richmond, Va.
0.83
0.02
$332,053
46
Wichita, Kan.
0.96
0.01
$212,450
44
Virginia Beach et al, V.a-N.C.
0.85
0.01
$301,000
45
Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
0.52
0.01
$694,900
56
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
0.51
0.01
$627,500
30
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.
0.64
0.01
$369,900
44
Pittsburgh, Pa.
1.05
0.01
$197,250
59
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
0.43
0.01
$689,475
40
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.
1.01
0.01
$223,500
44
Columbus, Ohio
0.95
0.01
$264,900
35
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
0.89
0.01
$289,900
43
Buffalo-Cheektowaga et al, N.Y.
0.92
0.01
$220,000
36
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.
0.62
0.01
$594,250
30
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.
0.84
0.01
$299,900
64
Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.
0.69
0.01
$427,450
67
Worcester, Mass.-Conn.
0.85
0
$349,000
36
Toledo, Ohio
1.13
0
$166,950
43
Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
0.81
0
$297,630
29
Milwaukee-Waukesha et al, Wis.
0.86
0
$279,900
36
Houston-The Woodlands et al, Texas
0.7
0
$324,945
51
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio
1.03
0
$190,606
49
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
0.68
-0.01
$196,000
83
Baton Rouge, La.
0.93
-0.01
$249,900
70
Youngstown-Warren et al, Ohio-Pa.
1.21
-0.01
$124,900
64
Dayton, Ohio
1.15
-0.01
$157,745
38
Akron, Ohio
1.11
-0.02
$174,900
40
Philadelphia et al, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
0.92
-0.02
$288,950
46
Winston-Salem, N.C.
0.85
-0.02
$245,000
45
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre et al, Pa.
1.06
-0.02
$162,400
67
Oklahoma City, Okla.
0.87
-0.02
$256,500
43
New Orleans-Metairie, La.
0.74
-0.02
$292,500
60
Louisville et al, Ky.-Ind.
0.91
-0.02
$277,450
43
Greensboro-High Point, N.C.
0.85
-0.02
$245,900
45
Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.
0.77
-0.03
$289,700
51
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.
0.96
-0.03
$249,000
50
Rochester, N.Y.
0.93
-0.04
$222,450
31
Bakersfield, Calif.
0.79
-0.04
$260,000
43
Syracuse, N.Y.
1.04
-0.04
$184,950
51
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
0.88
-0.04
$302,500
40
Tulsa, Okla.
0.89
-0.07
$239,500
50
El Paso, Texas
0.79
-0.09
$191,475
68