Sellers have held the upper hand in the U.S. housing market for so long that buyers might wonder when the dynamic will finally change in their favor. In fact, that might already be happening.
The housing market has become more “buyer-friendly” amid a rise in inventory in many parts of the country, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
That doesn’t mean it’s a buyer’s market now — at least not yet. High mortgage rates are a headwind for buyers, and list prices remain historically expensive. Meanwhile, some markets continue to see stiff competition, which means available homes tend to go quickly.
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A Clever Real Estate study of 2024 housing data found that nationwide, the median days on market for listed homes was 40 days. But that figure was much higher in some states — including Hawaii (80 days), Montana (78), Louisiana (69), South Carolina (68) and South Dakota (65).
At the city level, some once-hot housing markets have started to cool considerably, causing sellers to slash prices to find enough buyers. GOBankingRates spoke with real estate experts about the current state of the housing market and which cities are seeing challenges when it comes to selling homes.
Ken Corsini, co-founder of Red Barn Homebuyers in Georgia, said he’s seeing homes “linger much longer” in Florida cities like Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, as well as in Houston, Nashville, Austin (Texas) and Tucson (Arizona).
“These markets are cooling off fast because sellers are clinging to yesterday’s prices, but buyers have the upper hand thanks to high rates and growing inventory,” Corsini told GOBankingRates. “In places like Miami, sellers are even pulling their listings instead of negotiating, which shows how out of sync expectations have become.”
This dynamic has spread to smaller towns as well, according to Matt Taschner, CEO of Sota Home Buyers, a Minnesota-based real estate buyer.
“Two markets that are really showing slow selling at the moment and where listed homes are staying on the market longer than they were a year or two ago are Naples, Florida, and Longview, Texas,” Taschner told GOBankingRates. “The median number of days that homes are sitting on the market in both is well above the national average… All in all, there is greater buyer reluctance and price resistance, even in areas that were previously red hot.”
