It’s not always obvious when a housing market has tipped toward buyers, but a new report from Realtor.com® suggests that shift is now taking hold across the country.
Eight of the 50 largest metros are already in buyer’s market territory, while an additional 23 are balanced but loosening, according to the inaugural Market Clock Report. That suggests buyer-friendly conditions are spreading well beyond the metros that have already shifted fully in buyer's favor.
Still, leverage varies sharply by location, with sellers still firmly in control in at least 13 metros.
That dissonance points to another key finding of the report: The housing market is the most fragmented it's been since at least 2018, leaving buyers in some markets with more negotiating power than they've had in nearly a decade, while sellers continue to dominate elsewhere.
The new Market Clock tool from Realtor.com helps make sense of the split. It shows where local markets fall on a clock face from seller-dominated 12 o'clock to buyer-friendly 6 o'clock—and what that time means for negotiating power on both sides.
What does a buyer's market mean?
In the simplest terms, a buyer’s market is when the number of homes for sale exceeds the number of active buyers. This shift in supply and demand gives buyers more leverage as sellers compete to outshine one another.
That means more choices, more room to negotiate, and often, more time to decide for buyers.
It's a notable contrast from the seller-dominated market that’s defined much of the last decade. Since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, new-home construction lagged far behind demand, and buyers competed fiercely over limited inventory.
Even when conditions begin shifting in buyers’ favor, the change is not always immediate or obvious. Instead, it unfolds in phases.
First, inventory rises and sellers start lowering prices. At the peak, homes linger on the market and buyers have maximum leverage. And in the late stage, buyers still have the upper hand, but that window begins to close as demand starts to return.
Indicators of a buyer’s market
It's those cycles that the new Market Clock from Realtor.com helps capture. When the clock reaches 6, buyers have the most leverage, while a reading of 4 or 5 signals shifting momentum away from buyers or toward sellers, respectively.
And while housing data offers plenty of signals—like those explained below—what matters most is how those indicators come together. The Market Clock synthesizes those shifts into a clearer, more intuitive view of where local market conditions stand and where they may be heading.
High inventory
"The best single indicator for this is months supply," explains Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. "Typically, months' supply above six months is the hallmark of a buyer's market."
To her point, active listings have climbed year over year for 29 straight months, according to the March Monthly Housing Report from Realtor.com. That helps give buyers more options, which generally give them more power.
And yet, it's not that simple—new listings rose 0.7% nationally in March, driven by modest gains in the South and West. But they actually fell in the Northeast and Midwest.
That's part of the complication the Market Clock helps address. Its latest reading shows that only a handful of major metros have fully tipped into buyer’s-market territory so far—including Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa, and Riverside.
Each of these markets remains firmly at 5 o'clock—an early buyer's market. That suggests that while buyers have gained leverage, they may still have further to go before hitting the most buyer-friendly point in the cycle.
Slower sales
Homes are taking longer to sell across nearly every region. In March, the typical listing spent 57 days on the market—four days longer than a year ago.
In fact, time on market rose in all four major regions and in 43 of the 50 largest metros, a sign that conditions are softening broadly, even in many places that are still technically balanced or seller-leaning. And that broader slowdown is one reason the Market Clock now shows the national market in a balanced-but-loosening phase.
"In a buyer's market, sellers can typically expect it to take longer to sell a home, and they may have to reduce their home price—either directly in the listing or by accepting a below-asking-price offer—to ultimately make a sale," Hale explains.
This is advantageous for buyers, Hale notes.
"Buyers can expect that they will not only have more options to choose from, but also have more time to consider their choices," she says.
Price drops
Price cuts remain common across the country, but less common than a year ago, according to data from Realtor.com. Nationally, 16.2% of listings had a price cut in March, which is down 1.2 percentage points year over year.
That doesn't necessarily mean sellers suddenly have more power. Instead, it may reflect that many sellers learned from 2025's "cruel summer" of delistings and price cuts, and they've adjusted by pricing more realistically from the start.
Concessions
More motivated sellers can also show up in concessions. Mortgage broker Carlos Scarpero saw a growing number of sellers offer financial perks to seal the deal last summer.
“Even within cities and price points, trends can vary,” he explains. “I’ve closed several deals in 2025 with $10,000 or more in seller concessions. This is certainly higher than I have seen in years past.”
Is it a buyer’s market right now?
It depends on where you are.
While buyers may have more leverage in many cities, real estate experts warn that it won't be felt evenly across all segments of the market. Miami is a strong example.
While demand for condos priced below $500,000 has plummeted, single-family homes remain near impossible to find. On the off chance one hits the market, you're likely to get burned treating it like a condo.
In other words, "know your segment," Ana Bozovic, a Miami-based real estate agent and founder of Analytics Miami, told Realtor.com earlier this month.
The same can be said of the national housing market, which is in perfect balance right now. That means more buyer-friendly conditions than there have been in years.
“We’re continuing to see the market shift in favor of buyers,” says Matt Ryan of Bozeman Real Estate Group. “In Bozeman, MT, inventory has finally returned to pre-COVID levels, giving buyers more choices and negotiating power. I expect this trend to continue.”
That buyer-friendliness is showing up at the local level, too.
“It’s definitely been tipping in the direction of buyers lately,” says Brooke Nelson, a Reece Nichols agent in Kansas City, MO. “Showings have really slowed down.”
And in some markets, the shift is already playing out in negotiations.
“Every buyer I’m working with that makes an offer is getting a contract accepted,” notes Mason Whitehead, a branch manager at Churchill Mortgage.
Local and regional variations matter most
While national headlines might suggest a buyer’s market is taking hold, the reality on the ground depends heavily on where and what you’re trying to buy. Local trends can diverge sharply from national averages, especially when you factor in price range, property type, and post-pandemic market dynamics.
In some high-demand pockets, homes are still moving quickly, especially if they’re priced right and well-prepared.
“Buyers have the most negotiating power in the condo market,” explains Aaron Buchbinder, a broker with Compass in South Florida. “On the flip side, single-family homes in prime locations are still seeing strong interest and less flexibility.”
That kind of split isn’t unique to Florida. In many metro areas, buyers might find leverage in one segment while still facing competition in others.
While national stats offer a useful snapshot, the real leverage is local. Buyers and sellers alike should compare today’s conditions with their market’s own history, not just the national narrative. What seems like a cooling market in one city might still be red-hot in another.
