Home-price growth is slowing, as sellers severely outweigh active buyers in the market, leaving more room for negotiation, new industry reports said.
Value growth has slowed this year as many potential homebuyers have pulled back; November's year-over-year increase was the smallest in records dating back to 2012. Relatively high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty has pushed buyers out of the market, but prices are still rising because many prospective home sellers have backed away, too, the report said.
"Home-price growth is cooling as the calendar turns to winter, but prices are still rising and they're still too high for many house hunters," said Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research, in a press release Tuesday. "Still, we're in the midst of the strongest buyer's market in a decade; even though prices remain high, buyers have a chance to negotiate with sellers and get some concessions."
But he has good news for sales activity going forward. "We expect wages to grow faster than home prices in 2026,
There were an estimated 37.2%, or 529,770, more sellers than buyers in the housing market last month, the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 aside from this summer. The gap was 35.6% in October and 17% a year earlier, according to a different Redfin report.
Redfin defines a market with over 10% more sellers as a buyer's market. Under this definition, it has been a buyer's market since May of last year. But it is the case only for those who can afford to purchase a current listing.
"A modest improvement in housing affordability could bring some homebuyers off the sidelines in 2026, which could narrow the gap between homebuyers and sellers," Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan said in a press release Tuesday. "But the housing market is likely to remain in buyer's market territory for the foreseeable future, with sellers cutting prices or offering concessions to lure buyers."
The number of buyers in the housing market fell 2.5% in November versus October to an estimated 1.43 million, the largest monthly decline since April and the lowest level since on record aside from April of 2020. The number of buyers dropped 9.4% year-over-year.
The number of sellers also declined, sinking 1.4% month-over-month and 6.2% year-over-year to an estimated 1.95 million.
Where did home prices improve?
Home prices fell in 11 major metros around the country in November from the prior month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Charlotte, North Carolina, Austin, Texas, and Cincinnati recorded the largest declines at 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.6%, respectively, while Pittsburgh saw the biggest increase at 2.3%.
Austin also boasted the strongest buyer's market in the country last month, with 114% more sellers, while Nassau County, New York, posted the strongest seller's market, with 39.1% more buyers.
Overall, 36 of the 50 most populous metros were buyer's markets, seven were balanced and seven were seller's.
