The U.S. housing market is increasingly shifting in favor of buyers, with 70% of the nation’s largest metro areas now either favoring buyers or moving in that direction, according to the latest Realtor.com Market Clock analysis. The expanded tool, now covering the 100 largest U.S. metros, shows the most buyer-friendly spring housing market since 2018.
According to Realtor.com, the national housing market remains in a “Balance-Loosening” phase at 3 o’clock on the Market Clock. Local conditions vary widely. Nearly one in five metros are now outright buyer’s markets the largest share seen in a second quarter since 2019, while seller’s markets have declined to just 25% of metros.
“Buyers are gaining leverage, but the pace of change depends heavily on where they’re shopping,” said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com. “Expanding the Market Clock to 100 metros reveals a housing market that is moving toward buyers, but not uniformly across the country.”
The Market Clock measures housing conditions on a 12-hour scale, ranging from 12 o’clock, representing peak seller advantage, to 6 o’clock, representing peak buyer advantage. The tool helps illustrate not only who has leverage in a market, but also the direction conditions are moving.