Homebuyers in 70 percent of America’s top housing markets could have the upper hand this summer, according to a July 14 report from Redfin.
The national real estate brokerage found that 33 out of the 47 metro regions it analyzed were buyer’s markets in June, with nearly half a million, or 48.5 percent, more home sellers than buyers. Sellers outnumbered buyers nearly two to one in places such as Miami, Nashville, and large portions of Texas.
“The biggest hurdle for Americans looking to buy a home is affordability, but those with the budget to move now—even in the face of record-high home prices and stubbornly high mortgage rates—have the power,” Redfin senior economist Asad Khan said in the report.
Nationally, she said buyers now have more homes to choose from, are facing fewer bidding wars, and have more room to negotiate on price, closing costs, and repairs, adding that many sellers are more willing to compromise than they have been in years.
Redfin typically defines a buyer’s market as one in which there are 10 percent more sellers than buyers. Conversely, a market with 10 percent fewer sellers than buyers is considered a seller’s market. A balanced market is one in which the gap between buyers and sellers is less than 10 percent.
“It’s important to note that it’s only a buyer’s market for people who can afford to buy,” the report states. “High housing costs and widespread economic uncertainty have caused many would-be buyers to back off in recent years, creating the imbalance of buyers and sellers we see today.”
Still, the report notes that the number of homes listed for sale last month reached its highest level since 2020, with an estimated 1.496 million home sellers in the market—up 0.4 percent month over month. Potential buyers, meanwhile, were estimated at 1.007 million, a 0.5 percent uptick from the previous month.
The strongest buyer’s markets remained in the South and West. Miami averaged 140 percent more sellers than buyers in June, while Nashville recorded 129 percent more sellers. Three Texas metros—Houston, San Antonio, and Austin—all had more than 100 percent more sellers than buyers.
Soaring insurance rates and homeowners association fees are attributed to the rise of sellers in Miami, while years of overbuilding in Nashville and major Texas metros have created a glut of new housing options for buyers.
Other noteworthy buyer’s markets included: Atlanta, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
On the opposite side, Redfin reported just seven metro areas with strong seller’s markets, including Nassau County, New York—part of Long Island, where there were 38 percent fewer sellers than buyers last month.
Other significant seller’s markets included: Milwaukee; Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; Newark and New Brunswick, New Jersey; Providence, Rhode Island; and San Francisco.
“The places that favor sellers are mostly concentrated in the Northeast because they have one thing in common: a persistent shortage of homes for sale,” the report states.
In addition, the Northeast has limited land and more restrictive zoning. Many homeowners are also locked into very low mortgage rates and are more reluctant to sell, the report stated.
According to the report, San Francisco also lacks a substantial number of newly built homes, and many affluent buyers continue to scoop up existing homes, keeping the market competitive. Nearby San Jose actually reached a balanced market last month.
Major metros including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City reported balanced markets in June.
