The housing boom is over and buyers are now finding huges deals

America’s red-H๏τ housing market has undergone a dramatic reversal, with buyers now gaining the upper hand across much of the country after years of bidding wars, soaring prices and homes selling within days.

New research from Realtor.com shows this spring has been the most buyer-friendly since it began tracking housing market conditions in 2018, with sellers increasingly cutting asking prices and becoming more willing to negotiate.

The biggest shift has taken place in the South, where nearly every major buyer’s market is now located, while just one city in the entire country – Hartford, Connecticut – remains at the peak of seller dominance.

According to Realtor.com’s latest Market Clock report, 70 percent of the nation’s 100 largest housing markets either now favor buyers or are moving in that direction, up sharply from 52 percent just a year ago.

The Market Clock combines data including housing supply, buyer demand and pricing trends to measure who holds the negotiating power in each metro. 

Markets are plotted on a 12-hour clockface, with 12 o’clock representing a peak seller’s market and 6 o’clock a peak buyer’s market. 

Meanwhile, outright buyer’s markets account for 19 percent of major metros – their largest share since before the pandemic – while only 25 remain seller’s markets.

Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, said the market has become increasingly fragmented.

New research from Realtor.com shows this spring has been the most buyer-friendly since it began tracking housing market conditions i n 2018

Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com

‘The national market clock sits at 3 o’clock heading into summer, corresponding to a balanced market, loosening gradually in buyers’ favor,’ he said.

‘But a single national aggregate masks substantial variation below.’

The report found 36 metro areas became more buyer-friendly over the past year, while only four became more favorable to sellers – a nine-to-one imbalance that suggests negotiating power has swung decisively away from homeowners.

The biggest concentration of buyer-friendly housing markets is now in Florida.

Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, Palm Bay, Port St. Lucie, Lakeland and Deltona are all classified as buyer’s markets, alongside cities including Nashville, Jacksonville, Baton Rouge, Greenville and New Orleans.

Realtor.com found the South now accounts for 18 of America’s 19 buyer’s markets.

Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, told the Daily Mail that sellers across the Sunshine State are increasingly accepting they can no longer command the sky-high prices seen during the pandemic housing boom.

‘Demand is softer for Florida homes than it has been in recent years,’ he said. ‘The affordability crisis has caught up to sellers in the Sunshine State and they can no longer command the same kind of prices they could in previous years because buyers simply cannot pay them anymore.’

He said sellers have already started adjusting to the new reality. While price reductions have become less common than during the previous two spring selling seasons, asking prices have also fallen, meaning homeowners are pricing properties more realistically from the outset.

The biggest concentration of buyer-friendly housing markets is now in Florida. Pictured, coastal properties in Clearwater Beach

Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, Palm Bay, Port St. Lucie, Lakeland and Deltona are all classified as buyer’s markets, alongside cities including Nashville (pictured), Jacksonville, Baton Rouge, Greenville and New Orleans

In March, 21 percent of Florida listings had their asking price reduced, down 5.2 percentage points from a year earlier, while the state’s median listing price fell 1.2 percent year-over-year to $424,900.

Berner pointed to an $18 million price cut on a luxury Palm Beach mansion as a striking example of the changing market, even though the reduction represented only around 10 percent of the home’s original asking price.

He said years of elevated mortgage rates and the gradual cooling of the post-pandemic buying frenzy have fundamentally changed buyer behavior.

‘What’s happening now is that buyers are unable and unwilling to behave in the same way that they did before, and prices are finally adjusting to that reality in a meaningful way,’ he said.

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For prospective buyers, Berner believes conditions are the best they’ve been for years.

‘It’s a great time to be a capable buyer, especially if you have cash and can avoid mortgaging much of your purchase at today’s high rates,’ he said. ‘Take advantage if you can.’

His advice for sellers was equally straightforward: ‘Be realistic about pricing. Don’t start out too high and walk pricing back over several weeks or months. Price to sell from the beginning based on recent comparable sales.’

The report also found listing prices per square foot are now falling in 60 of the country’s 100 largest metros – the broadest spring price softening Realtor.com has ever recorded.

Nationally, median asking prices have fallen 2.5 percent over the past year – the biggest drop in Realtor.com’s records.

Rather than chasing unrealistic prices, sellers are increasingly accepting what buyers are willing to pay.

‘Sellers are finally playing ball,’ the report said, with more realistic pricing helping pending home sales climb for seven consecutive months.

While much of the country has cooled, Hartford has emerged as America’s lone peak seller’s market.

Hartford has emerged as America’s lone peak seller’s market. The Connecticut capital was the only metro to occupy the coveted 12 o’clock position on Realtor.com’s Market Clock

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The Connecticut capital was the only metro to occupy the coveted 12 o’clock position on Realtor.com’s Market Clock, indicating maximum seller leverage.

Twenty-four other metros, including Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Sacramento, remain seller’s markets, although many are gradually loosening.

The Northeast also dominates the handful of markets where sellers are actually regaining leverage.

Albany, Bridgeport, New York City and Poughkeepsie are all classified as balanced markets trending back toward sellers, while Pittsburgh also falls into the тιԍнтening category.

Many of the country’s H๏τtest pandemic-era housing markets are now seeing the fastest reversals.

Colorado Springs recorded one of the biggest annual shifts, moving from a balanced market into a buyer’s market. Nashville, Greenville, Augusta and Tampa also became significantly more favorable to buyers over the past year.

Meanwhile, cities including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas and Seattle all moved out of seller territory and into balanced markets.

The report says many of these metros are simply ‘past their seller peaks’ after years of exceptional demand.

Economists expect the balance to continue shifting over the coming months. Realtor.com identified Houston, Memphis and San Antonio among the cities most likely to become outright buyer’s markets later this year.

At the same time, almost a quarter of seller’s markets are sitting just one step away from becoming balanced, suggesting the nationwide cooling trend still has room to run.