Homebuyers Are Gaining Leverage as Housing Market Cools—Giving Them More Time To Purchase

The housing market is cooling, and it's not because of the winter storm that impacted much of the country. It's because of slower listing activity and price softening, according to the Realtor.com® Weekly Housing Trends Report for the week ending Jan. 31.

The data reveals the year is starting off more buyer-friendly, with higher inventory and falling home prices, allowing home shoppers more time to make decisions.

Realtor.com economists are expecting the housing market to be more balanced this year—a reality that would be shaped by steadier price growth, mortgage rates, and negotiating power that leans toward buyers.

While mortgage interest rates have hovered closer to the 6% mark, they've edged up the past few weeks. The average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan stands at 6.11% for the week ending Feb. 5, according to Freddie Mac. That rate is up from 6.10% the week prior, but lower than the 6.89% that borrowers saw during the same time period in 2025.

Home inventory trends

The number of active home listings is higher this year compared to last year. Active inventory is 8.9%—well above the number of homes for sale compared to 2025.

New-home listings are down 13.3% from the same time last year. New listings is a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale. The report explains that the winter storm that hit nearly half the country had an impact on the housing market.

This inventory growth shows both the rise in new listings and the slower pace of sales—homes are taking longer to find a buyer. This shift is what's making it a buyer's market because buyers have less competition and more homes to choose from.

The amount of time a home has spent on the market is six days longer than a year ago. Homes are taking longer because buyers are weighing their options, but this extended time is consistent with a slower winter season. Realtor.com economists say the year-over-year gap suggests that the "slowdown goes beyond normal seasonality."

The median list price also fell 2.4% year over year. This marks the largest weekly price drop on record since Realtor.com economists started tracking the trend in the summer of 2018. To date, there have been three consecutive weeks of price declines. Home prices are now adjusting to the slower sales activity and the growing number of homes on the market.

The median list price per square foot declined 2% year over year—which marks the 22nd week of decreases. This signals that "price softness" is not just a result of a smaller or lower-quality mix of homes for sale.