Only 13 of 50 metros still favor sellers
More of the biggest U.S. housing markets are starting to favor buyers, or at least moving away from the intense seller advantage seen in recent years, according to a new Realtor.com analysis.
The report found that 31 of the top 50 metro areas are now either balanced or buyer-friendly, while 13 are still seller’s markets. At the same time, Realtor.com has introduced the Market Clock, a new framework meant to show not just where a housing market stands now, but how it is shifting.
At the national level, the market is currently at 3 o’clock on the clock, which Realtor.com describes as a “balanced-loosening” phase. That means conditions are still relatively balanced overall, but are gradually moving in buyers’ favor. Even so, the national picture does not fully reflect what is happening locally, where market conditions vary widely from one metro to another.
“A national picture is useful, but when making a real estate decision, the local details are what really matter. Right now, a homebuyer in Houston or San Antonio is navigating a very different market than someone in Hartford or Milwaukee. The Realtor.com Market Clock was built to make those differences visible at a glance,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
Among the 50 largest metros, 23 are in balanced-loosening territory, making that the largest group. Eight are already classified as buyer’s markets, and six are in balanced-tightening territory, where conditions are starting to shift back toward sellers.
The buyer-friendly markets are concentrated in the South and West. Seven of the eight are in the South, while one is in the West. Florida and Texas make up a large share of that group, including Austin, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami. Realtor.com classifies all eight as “early buyer” markets, meaning inventory is rising, price cuts are becoming more common, and buyers are gaining more negotiating power.
Seller-leaning markets are more concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast. Four metros, including Hartford, are in what Realtor.com calls “peak seller” territory, where seller advantage is strongest. Six more, including Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Providence, are in “Early Seller” conditions, meaning competition is already strong and may continue to intensify. Boston and San Jose, meanwhile, are in late seller phases, where sellers still have the upper hand, but that advantage is beginning to ease.
Another eight metros fall into the “late balanced” category. These include Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, and Las Vegas. In those markets, homes are staying on the market longer and prices are softening, which could point to a clearer buyer advantage in the months ahead.
The Market Clock uses a 12-hour format to map housing conditions. Seller-friendly markets sit at the top of the clock, buyer-friendly markets at the bottom, and balanced markets in between. Realtor.com says the model is based on metro-level data related to inventory, competition, market speed, and pricing pressure.
“Consumers and professionals are exposed to more information than ever before, but more data hasn't always meant more clarity for people trying to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. The Market Clock is our attempt to change that—to take the full range of signals we track and translate them into something that reflects what the market actually feels like on the ground,” Hale said.
The company said the tool is meant to describe current market conditions and changes in leverage over time. A market moving toward buyers does not automatically mean prices will fall, just as a seller’s market does not guarantee prices will keep rising.
