Best Buyer’s Markets Heading Into Summer: Here’s Where Home Shoppers Hold the Cards

Just in time for the busy summer homebuying season, the list of confirmed buyer's markets among the nation's largest metros has grown to 10, up from eight last month—although regional divides remain stark.   

According to the latest update to the Realtor.com® Market Clock, there are now nine buyer's markets in the South and one in the West, but the Northeast and Midwest still have none.

Since the release of the first Market Clock quarterly report in early April, the lineup of buyer's markets has shifted. Austin, TX, dropped out of the group, replaced by three new additions: Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX, and Memphis, TN.

They are joining seven already established buyer's markets: Atlanta; Jacksonville, FL; Miami; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; Riverside, CA; and Tampa, FL.

The Market Clock is a recently launched tool designed to track national and metro-level housing conditions using months of supply, time on market, price changes, and list-to-sale ratio—there are now nine buyer's markets in the South and one in the West, but the Northeast and Midwest still have none.

Here's how this works: Each of the 50 largest metros is placed on a 12-hour clockface. Peak seller's markets sit at 12 o'clock, balanced markets land at 3 or 8 o'clock, and peak buyer's markets rest at 6 o’clock, signaling exactly where each market stands and whether it is loosening or tightening.  

For eight of these metros, it's 5 o'clock right now, putting them in early buyer's market category. This means the metros have plenty of inventory to choose from, with more listings being added daily, as sellers are starting to cut prices. 

Miami currently stands at 6 o'clock, distinguishing it as a peak buyer's market where homes are piling up and prices are softening, offering buyers greater leverage. Meanwhile, Jacksonville is at 7 o'clock, meaning that sales are picking up the pace, but price cuts are still relatively abundant.

Houston buyers gain leverage

The largest among the trio of newcomers, Houston switched from a late balanced to an early buyer's market as inventory was added and prices retreated in recent months.

According to the Realtor.com April monthly housing market trends report, for-sale homes in Houston are waiting for a buyer five days longer compared to a year ago. With active inventory up nearly 7% year over year and the median listing price down 2.7% to $359,897, it's clear that homes are lingering and buyers have more room to negotiate.

"A buyer's market does not mean the bottom is falling out, or there's a crash on the horizon," stresses Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel. "It simply means buyers are starting to have the upper hand in negotiations relative to a more balanced market."

Krimmel also points out that much of the South, like Houston, has been moving in a buyer-friendly direction for some time, so this is a continuation of that trend.

Additionally, it's important to keep in mind that a "buyer's market" label may not tell the full story, and hyperlocal market conditions can significantly vary from one community to the next within the same metropolitan area.

Walter Bering, a broker at Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty, specializing in Houston's luxury real estate, says in the premier enclaves where he is active, there is a shortage of listings, and competition is intense.

"I'm seeing multiple offers on some properties," Bering tells Realtor.com. "The good ones move within less than 30 days. Some properties are selling for over list price."  

'The usual suspects'

Looking at the buyer's market carried over from the first report, Krimmel says their housing data tells a now-familiar story: Sustained inventory growth and slower sales over time have steadily driven up months of supply, stripping sellers of most of their negotiating leverage.

In Nashville, TN, both active and new listings were up by 15.7% and 7.3%, respectively, in April from a year ago, while home prices decreased nearly 2%. Despite these metro-wide statistics, Wendy Monday, broker at Onward Real Estate, tells Realtor.com the situation on the ground varies by neighborhood as it does in Houston.

"Buyers often still feel like they're not finding what they want at their price point," she says.

The key question moving forward is twofold: How many more markets will drift into buyer-leaning territory? And will these current buyer's markets start to tighten up as prices fall, sales pick up, and they eventually balance out.

The coming months should provide clarity as new Market Clock data emerges.

Buyers vs. sellers

For buyers this summer, Krimmel suggests keeping a close eye on local conditions when deciding on the right time to come off the sidelines. Considering that the Market Clock has metroes spread across all 12 hours, the national landscape is incredibly fragmented.

"Generally speaking though, most markets are moving more buyer-friendly, though many still favor sellers, especially in the Midwest and Northeast," says Krimmel, highlighting the nation's two lowest-supply, highest-demand regions.

One factor that stands out this spring, according to the economist, is that listing prices are retreating in many metros, but so are price cuts relative to last year.

"This means sellers are reading the market signals more clearly and pricing their homes to move more quickly," says Krimmel.

This dynamic is a departure from spring 2025, when sellers in markets where they were losing ground were reluctant to list lower from the outset, and instead would end up waiting before eventually slashing prices or delisting altogether to await more favorable market conditions.