These cities just became America’s hottest buyer’s markets

Home buyers are increasingly regaining the upper hand in most major U.S. metro areas, but the amount of leverage they wield depends entirely on where they’re buying.

The second quarter marked the most buyer-friendly spring for the U.S. housing market in eight years as the national median listing price fell about 2.5% from last year, according to a report released Tuesday by Realtor.com. However, while buyers have a lot of leverage in Southern cities like Miami, New Orleans and Orlando, sellers continue to retain the upper hand in many Midwestern cities like Indianapolis, Kansas City and Milwaukee, noted the report’s author, Jake Krimmel, a senior economist for the Austin-based real estate site.

“Two-thirds of Midwestern metros are still tilted toward sellers, and not one has crossed into buyer’s territory,” Krimmel said in a statement. “Meanwhile, a buyer shopping in the South is working with nearly the opposite market and it’s the clearest regional split we’ve measured.”

For the latest report, Realtor.com expanded its quarterly analysis to include the 100 largest metro areas. Dubbed “Market Clock,” each metro area is placed on one of the 12 clock positions that indicate whether buyers or sellers have the negotiating advantage. Starting from peak seller dynamics, the clock winds through loosening conditions into peak buyer dynamics and then through tightening conditions that revert back to a seller’s market, 

Among the 100 largest metro areas, 70% now favor buyers or are trending in that direction, up from 52% last year. “What the Market Clock shows this quarter is a country moving toward buyers, but at very different speeds depending on where you live,” Krimmel noted. 

BUYER’S MARKETS

The latest report identifies 19 buyer’s markets where the median listing price fell 2.5% from last year and where 74% of sellers are “playing ball,” as defined by dynamics like an asking price per square foot that’s lower than a year ago. In the South and West, where buyer-friendly conditions reign supreme, sellers are pricing their listings more realistically at the outset—thereby avoiding what can be a costly mistake.

“Pricing realism is what buyer leverage looks like in action,” said Krimmel. “Sellers in the South and West are getting the message and pricing accordingly, and it’s paying off—pending sales have now risen for seven straight months, which is the most active spring market we’ve seen in four years.”

The 19 buyer’s markets are:

• Augusta, Georgia
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Cape Coral, Florida
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Deltona, Florida
• Greenville, South Carolina
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Lakeland, Florida
• McAllen, Texas
• Miami, Florida
• Nashville, Tennessee
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Orlando, Florida
• Palm Bay, Florida
• Port St. Lucie, Florida
• Sarasota, Florida
• Tampa, Florida 

SELLER’S MARKETS

While there are still more seller’s markets in the U.S., many of them are trending in a buyer-friendly direction, according to Krimmel. What’s more, several formerly hot housing markets have now passed their peak seller’s market status.

Thanks to their advantage, sellers are far less likely to “play ball” with buyers, even if they don’t have as much leverage as it may seem. In the 25 seller’s markets, the median asking price rose only 0.4% in the quarter ended in June from the same period in 2025. And only one housing market—Hartford, Connecticut, which Realtor.com dubbed the “hottest housing market” in June—is considered a peak seller’s market. 

The 25 seller’s markets are: 

• Akron, Ohio
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Boise City, Idaho
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Richmond, Virginia
• Sacramento, California
• San Francisco, California
• San Jose, California
• Scranton, Pennsylvania
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Toledo, Ohio
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Wichita, Kansas
• Worcester, Massachusetts

TICKING CLOCK

With the all-important summer selling season underway, future shifts in the quarterly Market Clock readings are likely. And dynamics can change pretty quickly in specific markets. Between the first and second quarter of the year, six metro areas that include Cleveland, Ohio and Portland, Maine moved in favor of buyers.

Now, places like Memphis and Houston are on the cusp of crossing into buyer’s markets. Meanwhile, the greater New York metro area is “the only corner of the country” where sellers are regaining leverage, Krimmel noted.

Even if there’s a lot of fragmentation among different metro areas, the momentum in the housing market is more uniform, Krimmel said. “The clock is ticking towards buyers.”