Is It a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market? How to Tell & What It Means for You

Is It a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market? How to Tell & What It Means for You

Understanding whether it’s a buyer’s market or seller’s market is one of the most important steps in making smart real estate decisions. It affects your negotiation power, pricing strategy, and overall home buying or selling experience.

Let’s break it down in depth so you can make sense of today’s real estate market and move forward with clarity and confidence.

What Is a Buyer’s Market?

A buyer’s market occurs when housing inventory exceeds demand. In simple terms, there are more homes available for sale than there are buyers to purchase them. This gives homebuyers the upper hand in negotiations.

Key Traits of a Buyer’s Market:

• Homes stay on the market longer (higher days on market or DOM)
• Sellers are more open to negotiation (price drops, covering closing costs, repair credits)
• Buyers have time to shop, compare, and decide without urgency
• Price appreciation tends to be slower or flat

Example: In a house buyers market, a home listed for $500,000 might receive offers below asking, and sellers may agree to pay part of the buyer’s closing costs.

Buyer's market means homebuyers can be strategic, negotiate favorable terms, and take more time making decisions.

What Is a Seller’s Market?

A seller’s market is when demand exceeds housing inventory. There are more buyers than available homes, giving sellers greater control and leading to more competitive scenarios.

Key Traits of a Seller’s Market:

• Homes sell quickly, often within days
• Multiple offers on a single listing are common
• Buyers may waive contingencies to stay competitive
• Prices trend upward due to demand

Example: In a sellers market, a home listed at $500,000 might sell for $540,000 with waived inspections or financing contingencies.

Sellers in this scenario can dictate terms and timelines, and may even reject offers with buyer protections in place.

How to Tell Which Market You’re In?

You don’t need to guess. You can evaluate whether it’s currently a buyers market or sellers market using key market indicators.

1. Inventory Levels (Months of Supply)

How to check: Look at local MLS data or ask your real estate agent to share the inventory days on hand for your area.

2. Days on Market (DOM)

• High DOM (60+ days): Favors buyers
• Low DOM (10–30 days): Favors sellers

Tracking how long homes in your preferred neighborhood stay on the market helps you spot trends.

3. Price Movement

• Increasing prices = Seller’s market
• Stable or dropping prices = Buyer’s market

Use tools like the FHFA House Price Index or local real estate dashboards to see real price trends.

4. Mortgage Rates

• High rates reduce affordability and cool down demand
• Low rates increase buyer demand, favoring sellers

As of 2025, average rates around 7%+ signal pressure on affordability—possibly shifting the buyers sellers market balance.

Are We in a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market Right Now?

That depends on your location.

While national trends may show a buyers real estate market, some zip codes still operate as competitive seller buyer markets due to low inventory or high local demand.

For a custom assessment, check market reports by city or even ZIP code.

With tools like WithJoy.AI, you can view hyper-local market insights to make smarter buying decisions.