Is it a buyer’s market or not?
In separate market reports published on Thursday, Redfin and Realtor.com aimed to answer the question by looking at home price, home sales and inventory trends, which signal that homebuyers are gaining the upper hand — but have not seized total control of market dynamics.
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Redfin’s report revealed that median home prices are edging up again, rising 2.2 percent year over year during the four weeks ending Sept. 14.
The price increase, the report said, is due to homesellers slowly pulling back from the market. New listings (+1.1 percent) are in limbo for the third straight month, continuing a vacillation between a 1 percent annual increase and decrease. Total listings aren’t looking much better, only rising 9.9 percent year over year during the four weeks ending Sept. 14 — the smallest increase since March 2024.
Shrinking inventory and a slight bump in median home price growth have pushed homebuyers to hit pause on contract signings, as evidenced by pending home sales barely squeezing an annual gain of 0.8 percent. Redfin said homeshoppers are playing the waiting game again, as the Federal Reserve’s recent short-term rate cut stokes hope for continued mortgage rate drops.
Realtor.com’s report uncovered similar market trends. However, it offered a few more layers to the buyers’ market conundrum.
Although inventory levels haven’t hit the six-month benchmark, longer list-to-sale timelines and more frequent price cuts and concessions signal that the scales are beginning to tip in buyers’ favor.
The median days on market increased in August from 53 to 60 days, leading homesellers to cut prices on nearly a fourth of listings (20.3 percent). Concessions, which have become nearly obsolete in recent years, are coming back.
Danielle Hale | Credit: Realtor.com
“In a buyer’s market, sellers can typically expect it to take longer to sell a home, and they may have to reduce their home price — either directly in the listing or by accepting a below-asking-price offer — to ultimately make a sale,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a written statement. “Buyers can expect that they will not only have more options to choose from, but also have more time to consider their choices.”
Momentum, when measured by months of supply, is strongest for buyers in Miami; Austin, Texas; Orlando, Florida; New York; Jacksonville, Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Riverside, California, with inventory ranging between 6.1 months and 9.7 months of supply.
Meanwhile, 23 markets are in sellers’ favor, and another 20 markets are somewhere in between.
The report said housing type also makes a difference, with homebuyers within a market striking out within the single-family home segment, but making home runs within the condo space.
“Miami is a strong example,” it read. “While demand for condos priced under the $500,000 mark has plummeted, single-family homes remain near impossible to find. On the off-chance one hits the market, you’re likely to get burnt treating it like a condo.”
Redfin and Realtor.com’s reports said current sales trends indicate a market transition — not a market flip.
“We’ve been in a seller’s market pretty consistently since 2016, when months supply averaged 4.4 months across the year,” Hale said. “Since then, it’s averaged four or lower, signaling a tough market for buyers. Given the persistence of under-building relative to housing demand over the last decade, it’s not surprising that we have been through a really persistent seller’s market.”
“While some are calling this housing market a buyer’s market, I would say that it’s more of a market in transition,” she added.
