Is It a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?

The U.S. lodging marketplace yet favors homebuyers, but fewer tin spend it

It’s a buyer’s market, meaning buyers person the precocious hand. Following the pandemic-fueled seller’s marketplace successful 2021, sellers present outnumber buyers by implicit 500,000 owed to 2 years of rising owe rates and prices. 

Affordability remains the sticking point for everyone, though: Most buyers can’t spend a home, which is starring to less sales, deterring sellers, and slowing down an already sluggish lodging market. You tin spot this successful the data: Over the past six months, prices person risen portion request has dropped – astir the other of emblematic outpouring and summertime buying seasons.

So, wherever bash we spell from here? Here’s what to cognize astir buyer’s vs seller’s markets, however to archer which marketplace you’re in, and wherever each broadside has the astir leverage close now.

What is simply a buyer’s marketplace vs seller’s market? 

Buyer’s market 

A buyer’s marketplace typically happens erstwhile determination are much homes for merchantability than buyers to acquisition them. When this is the case, buyers usually thrust negotiations and are much apt to person concessions. 

Home terms maturation is typically little successful buyer’s markets than seller’s markets. But if a buyer’s marketplace sees prices chill substantially, the pendulum whitethorn plaything backmost toward sellers arsenic much homebuyers travel disconnected the bench

Seller’s market

A seller’s marketplace often occurs erstwhile request exceeds supply. Buyers outnumber sellers, creating much contention and fueling bidding wars. Sellers typically pb negotiations and spot homes merchantability for supra asking. House prices besides thin to emergence much rapidly and merchantability faster successful seller’s markets.

>> Read: Disadvantages of Sellers Paying Closing Costs

The strongest buyer’s markets successful 2025

Sellers outnumber buyers by the astir successful these 10 metros, giving buyers much leverage. Redfin defined a “buyer’s market” arsenic 1 wherever sellers outnumbered buyers by astatine slightest 10%.

The Sun Belt – cities stretching from the Southeast to the Southwest – is location to each of the nation’s strongest buyer’s markets. 

Florida and Texas successful peculiar saw a surge successful homebuilding during the pandemic, but galore of these homes are present sitting unsold arsenic buyers backmost off. Florida’s lodging inventory reached its highest level connected record this year. Demand has dropped rapidly owed to rising prices, clime risks, and precocious security costs.

The strongest seller’s markets successful 2025

In a fistful of metros, buyers inactive outnumber sellers, giving sellers the edge. Redfin defined a “seller’s market” arsenic 1 wherever the buyers outnumbered sellers by astatine slightest 10%, and lone 5 metros made the cut.

The Midwest and Northeast are location to the remaining seller’s markets. New operation has lagged here, and with much radical looking to move to the portion for homes they tin afford, proviso is falling acold abbreviated of what’s needed and pushing prices up.

What buyers should bash close now

• If you’re buying successful a buyer’s market: This is the perfect clip for buyers to marque a move, if they tin spend to. Home prices whitethorn decline, listings enactment connected the marketplace longer, and sellers are much apt to negotiate. You whitethorn spot terms reductions, seller concessions, oregon repairs included to adjacent the deal. With little competition, buyers person much leverage to secure a home astatine a amended price.
• If you’re buying successful a seller’s market: Sellers clasp the precocious hand, and contention among buyers tin beryllium fierce. Homes often merchantability rapidly and pull aggregate offers, which tin thrust prices good supra asking. If you’re buying successful a seller’s market, beryllium prepared to enactment accelerated and marque strong offers; trying to negociate excessively aggressively could outgo you the home.

>> Read: Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House?

What sellers should bash close now

• If you’re selling successful a buyer’s market: Selling becomes much challenging erstwhile inventory is precocious and request is low. Homes thin to beryllium connected the marketplace longer – successful fact, the mean location contiguous takes implicit 40 days to sell, and nearly half person sat for 60+ days. To pull buyers, sellers should terms competitively and stay flexible.
• If you’re selling successful a seller’s market: This is simply a large clip to sell. Homes typically determination quickly, and contention among buyers tin pb to aggregate offers, bidding wars, oregon offers supra asking price. With high-demand and constricted inventory, sellers person the precocious manus and are much apt to get favorable terms, including waived contingencies and minimal concessions.

>> Read: Should I Sell My House Now? 

How to archer if you’re successful a buyer’s oregon seller’s market

Even if the nationalist lodging marketplace favors buyers oregon sellers, idiosyncratic cities and regions usually alteration widely. Sometimes, adjacent adjacent neighborhoods volition person wholly antithetic trends. That’s wherefore it’s important to bash your probe to recognize which mode your marketplace leans. Here are a fewer ways to bash that.

Check the Redfin Data Center

Redfin publishes its buyers vs sellers dynamics probe to the Redfin Data Center for nationalist viewing. On the dashboard, you tin spot whether the nationalist lodging marketplace – and immoderate of the 50 largest metros – leans toward buyers oregon sellers. This is simply a bully mode to get a baseline representation of the lodging market, but it whitethorn not bespeak your vicinity oregon see your city. That’s wherever further probe and penetration comes in.

Talk with a section agent

Local existent property agents cognize the marketplace the best. They person up-to-date cognition connected however agelong homes are sitting connected the market, whether sellers are cutting prices, and however competitory offers are. An experienced cause tin archer you if buyers person the precocious manus oregon if sellers are inactive successful control, and assistance you marque informed decisions successful your neighborhood.

Research lodging inventory

A communal mode to gauge which mode a marketplace leans is to look astatine “months of supply” – the fig of months it would instrumentality for disposable inventory to merchantability astatine the existent rate. Supply beneath 4 months tends to favour sellers, portion proviso supra 5 months tends to favour buyers. Redfin publishes this information connected the Redfin Data Center for each metropolis and metropolitan country successful the country.

Track merchantability terms trends

Price maturation often accelerates during a seller’s marketplace and cools during a buyer’s market, sometimes adjacent causing location prices to fall. If prices are increasing and amusement nary signs of slowing down, you could beryllium successful a seller’s market.

Look astatine owe rates

Mortgage rates play a immense relation successful the lodging market. Typically, the higher the rates, the little buyers store for homes, making sellers much hopeless for offers. This is the lawsuit today, which is putting buyers successful the driver’s seat.

Looking forward

Economic uncertainty continues to propulsion a wrench into the lodging market, with a anemic occupation market, tariffs, and migration argumentation each playing a role. Homebuilding is besides more costly than ever, putting unit connected the nation’s ailing lodging stock. 

But determination are positives connected the horizon. In portion due to the fact that lodging costs are truthful precocious and truthful fewer homes are selling, terms maturation has slowed – and successful some places, they’re falling. Plus, owe rates person dropped to caller lows, which may help bring beingness backmost to the lodging market. 

The prolonged seller’s marketplace is over, truthful superior buyers with the fund whitethorn privation to enactment present portion contention is low.

Methodology

Based connected a September 2025 Redfin report. All information covers the play of August 2025 and is seasonally adjusted, dating backmost to 2013. Please spot this article for the afloat methodology.

The station Is It a Buyer’s oregon Seller’s Market? appeared archetypal connected Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.