Buyers may have more negotiating power this summer, but not everywhere. New housing market data shows buyer’s markets expanding across many major metros, while tighter inventory in the Northeast and Midwest continues to give sellers leverage in select areas.
Redfin estimated that there were 46.9% more sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market in May, with buyer’s markets now making up most of the major metros it analyzed. The strongest were concentrated in the Sun Belt, led by Nashville, where sellers outnumbered buyers by 129.8%. Miami, Austin, Houston and San Antonio were close behind.
That does not mean sellers have lost leverage across the board. Redfin found only seven seller’s markets in May, but they included some highly competitive areas in the Northeast and on the West Coast. In Nassau County, New York, there were 38.3% fewer sellers than buyers, followed by markets including Milwaukee, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Newark, New Brunswick, Providence and San Francisco.
The split lines up with where inventory has recovered most. Realtor.com’s May data shows active listings above pre-pandemic levels in the South (+3.9%) and West (+12.4%), but still far below normal in the Midwest (-36.2%) and Northeast (-49.0%). Buyers may have the upper hand nationally, but local supply still decides how much leverage they really have.
