By Clare Trapasso - Realtor.com

Hey, home buyers, just how stressed out are you these days?

Maybe you've finally come to grips with the crazy, sky's-the-limit prices still sweeping through most major markets. Perhaps you've made peace with the ever-looming threat of another recession. Quite possibly you've even dismissed all that stuff about a coronavirus pandemic, and you're blithely unconcerned about any aftershocks from the upcoming elections.

But when it comes to finding available homes on the market—where and when you want to buy 'em—well, that's a challenge even the most battle-tested wannabe homeowners are struggling with these days.

And make no mistake: It is a battlefield out there. The problem is, there just aren't enough homes on the market to satisfy all of the would-be buyers—and that causes prices to spike ever higher in many parts of the country.

Nationally, inventory plunged 13.6% in January compared with a year earlier, representing the biggest drop in more than four years. Few markets have been immune to the plunge. There are now 164,000 fewer homes on the market, the fewest number since 2012, when realtor.com® began collecting the data.

In some of the tightest markets, well-priced homes in the most sought-after locations can sell within a few hours of going up for sale. In others, there are enough properties for sale that buyers don't need to make a split-second decision and can be choosier.

That's why our economics team searched for the metropolitan areas where it's easiest to buy a home—and where it's not.

"Inventory is falling—even in the easiest markets to buy a home," says realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “For buyers, it means there are fewer options to choose from, they have to make quicker decisions when they’re out there shopping, and they're probably also dealing with rising prices.”

And while this may sound like a bonanza for sellers, keep in mind that most of them are also in the market to buy a new home. So there's that.

To come up with our findings, we looked at the number of listings per 1,000 homeowner-occupied households in the 100 largest metros in the fourth quarter of 2019. The analysis was based on the number of homes for sale relative to the local population. And we narrowed our findings to one per state for some geographic variety.

So where can buyers get a home without losing their mind, and where would they want to sign up for meditation and relaxation classes? Let's dig into the findings—and the trends they're showing.

At first blush, the metros with the most homes on the market may not seem like they have much in common. But many of the metros in this hodgepodge are in the South, a less expensive part of the U.S. long popular with retirees and second-home seekers. But many of the cities in our rankings have strong economies, drawing younger buyers as well.

You want to buy a home fast? Head to Florida!

Why does the Sunshine State dominate our list of easiest places to buy a house, when nationally the trends are going the other way? After all, on our unfiltered list, Florida takes six of the 20 spots with the highest inventories of homes on the market. (We limited our list to just one metro per state.)

Well, some of it is seasonal: Florida's busy real estate season kicks off in the fall, when the Northerners and Midwesterners head south. Sunshine State sellers begin planting those "For Sale" signs in the yards and listing their homes in earnest toward the end of the year, unlike the rest of the country, which heats up in the spring and summer.

But it's also a function of the fact that builders are currently stepping up new construction to meet the greater demands of a tsunami of retiring boomers.

Reasonably priced Cape Coral, a city with about 400 miles of canals on Florida's southwestern coast making it popular with vacation home buyers and seniors, snagged our top spot. The area has been affected by recent hurricanes and toxic blue-green algae blooms in recent years, which may be why the area has a bit more inventory than other Florida destinations.

"It has a city-suburb feeling," says longtime Cape Coral real estate agent Nelson Rua, of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. "We have local mom and pop stores instead of big franchises, and geographically we’re very well-protected by the storms because we have these barrier islands in front of us.”

The metro's median home list price was $325,050 in January, according to realtor.com data.

While Cape Coral inventory may seem high, at 37.9 properties per 1,000 households, it's still falling compared with the previous year. And that's something it has in common with all of the other Florida entries on our larger list (including Miami, Deltona, North Port, and Jacksonville). Lower mortgage interest rates have spurred more buyers to take the plunge, and inventory in Cape Coral actually plunged 22% year over year in January.

Starter and more affordable homes tend to go quick, while the more expensive ones can linger on the market, according to Brad O’Connor, chief economist of the Florida Realtors, the state's Realtors association.

It's just easier to find a home in beach and retirement destinations

For many of the same reasons as in Florida, it's easier to find homes in beach and retirement destinations with strong economies, like Charleston, SC (No. 3), and Virginia Beach, VA (No. 4). South Carolina and Virginia are both tax-friendly states, appealing to those living on fixed incomes, and both have lots of good jobs and are more friendly toward builders.

Charleston has its port, Boeing and Volvo plants, and a thriving tourism industry driving the economy. And its old-world-style cobblestone streets, hanging moss, gorgeous architecture, and renowned food scene may be why buyers are coming up with the metro's median list price of $422,500. (That's about 29% more than the national median of $300,000.)

Real estate broker Randy Bazemore, of Century 21 Properties Plus, is seeing lots of 55-and-up buyers moving to the area as well as younger professionals working in the tech industry.

Meanwhile, Virginia Beach has one of the largest military presences in the nation with more than 86,000 active-duty personnel stationed in the area. The median list price there is $310,000.

For well-heeled retirees or second-home buyers, Honolulu (No. 10), with a median list price of $655,050, has plenty of options for sale.