For years, rising home prices, limited housing supply and high mortgage rates made it difficult for aspiring homeowners to purchase property in the U.S.
But now conditions are shifting in buyers’ favor for the first time since 2019, as they have more options to choose from.
Housing Supply on the Rise
With more than four months of inventory now on the market, according to the National Association of Realtors®, buyers are seeing the longest stretch of relative housing abundance in half a decade.
The reasons for that are twofold: sluggish sales activity and a welcome influx of fresh listings. New listings have jumped 4.9% year on year, delivering something buyers haven’t had in years: a chance to weigh their options.
A Buyer’s Market?
The housing market is undergoing a change as supply catches up with demand. For years, limited inventory forced buyers into bidding wars and to settle for homes that barely met their needs. But Bruce Ailion of Re/Max Town & Country declares: “Those days are over.”
As more homes become available, buyers now have the advantage. More options mean fewer compromises, says Mike Wall, CEO of eXp Realty.
Mr. Wall recounts a recent example of a family who found their dream home—complete with a big backyard, a home office and a finished basement—without going over budget. That is the new reality of a market where supply is loosening its chokehold.
More Homes, Lower Prices
The surge in housing stock is flipping the script for sellers who are now under pressure to slash prices just to compete in a crowded market. In October the median home price dropped to $424,950, showing that perhaps the days of sky-high prices are coming to an end.
As more homes flood the market, sellers are being forced to make concessions. According to Realtor.com’s Ralph McLaughlin, 18.6% of homes saw price reductions. This is 2.2% higher than the cuts seen between October 2017 and 2019, he says.
The math is simple: too many homes, not enough buyers willing to pay the premiums sellers are demanding.
Take the case of one recent buyer, says Mike Wall, who had been watching a home for weeks. “The price was too high at first, and interest was nonexistent,” Wall notes. But after two price cuts—totaling nearly 10%—his client swooped in with an offer below the asking price, which the seller quickly accepted.
The seller even agreed to cover part of the closing costs, showing just how desperate they were to make a deal.
But it doesn’t stop at price cuts. Sellers are also increasingly offering flexibility on other terms: point buy-downs, seller credits for repairs and even rent-backs if buyers need more time to move in.
Moreover, a host of other factors are tipping the scales in buyers’ direction. Realtor.com’s Jiayi Xu calls this “the slowest seasonal market in five years,” with homes languishing for an average of 58 days in October, the longest since 2019.
The slowdown means buyers now have the luxury of time. No more rushed decisions or frenzied bidding wars. A week longer to shop for homes gives buyers room to think, negotiate and avoid the costly mistakes of the past.
Take Andrew Fortune, who runs Great Colorado Homes. He recently worked with a client who’d been burned by the chaos of the 2020–22 market, repeatedly losing out to cash buyers. This time, the tables have turned.
“They revisited a home multiple times, brought in a contractor and even negotiated repairs, all because the seller was willing to wait for a good offer,” Mr. Fortune says.
Realtor.com’s Hannah Jones says that although it’s not officially a “buyer’s market,” the balance is shifting. Buyers are in a better position than they’ve been in years, she says.
If seller activity continues to outpace buyer demand and inventory continues to climb, the market might fully tilt in favor of buyers.
“For buyers who’ve been sitting on the sidelines, now might be the time to jump in,” urges Mr. Wall.
