With more homes for sale, it's becoming a buyer's market
“The balance of power in the U.S. housing market has shifted toward buyers, but a lot of sellers have yet to see or accept the writing on the wall,” Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan said in a statement accompanying the analysis. “Many are still holding out hope that their home is the exception and will fetch top dollar.”
There are currently 34% more sellers than buyers in the housing market — a stark reversal from two years ago when buyers outnumbered sellers. Redfin said sellers have not outnumbered buyers by as large of a margin since 2013.
Redfin said 31 of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the United States are now buyer’s markets. Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida, are the best markets for buyers, where sellers outnumber buyers 3-to-1.
Overall, Florida is home to six of the top 10 buyer’s markets, including Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando. Austin, Texas, ranks fourth, Phoenix ranks sevent and Las Vegas ranks eighth.
Redfin attributed the shift in Florida’s market dynamics to ramped-up homebuilding following the pandemic.
With housing affordability cooling the market for existing homes, Redfin expects home prices to drop 1% by the end of 2025 as home price declines tend to follow a market shift toward buyers.
In April, the median home sale price was $431,931 — up 1.6% compared with a year earlier. Monthly housing payments hit a new record last month because of high prices and mortgage rates that averaged 6.73% for a 30-year term, Khan said.
“At this critical stage of the housing market, it is all about mortgage rates,” National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Despite an increase in housing inventory, we are not seeing higher home sales. Lower mortgage rates are essential to bring home buyers back into the housing market.
The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is currently 6.98%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales declined 6.3% in April.