Today's a Seller's Market. When Will Homebuyers Get the Upper Hand?

Author: CNET

In the housing market, sellers have a lot of leverage right now.

With home prices up 28% from 2019, mortgage rates still hovering above 6% and steady competition over a small number of homes for sale, buyers have a lot working against them.

This is known as a seller’s market, where sellers have a distinct advantage. However, it hasn’t always been this way, and it won’t be forever. The dynamic in real estate always shifts back and forth between a seller’s market and a buyer’s market.

We’ve been in a seller’s market for more than a few years now, and many buyers are waiting for the tide to turn. Will home prices decrease and the housing supply increase? Will competition ease? Will it flip to a buyer’s market in 2025? 

Real estate experts don’t expect things to change much over the next several months. While conditions for buyers might improve slightly next year as mortgage rates decline, sellers will likely retain the advantage.

When was the last time we were in a buyer’s market? 

We’ve been in a seller’s market for a long time.

The last time we were in a strong buyer’s market was shortly after the country recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, and the housing market picked up again in the early 2010s, according to Leah Robinson-Christian, an associate real estate broker at Engel & Völkers Atlanta.

During that period, homes were taking longer to sell, which meant buyers had the power to negotiate a lower price and better terms on a home purchase, Robinson-Christian said.

But then home prices began to climb again in 2012, and by the middle of the decade, inventory also began a long downward slide. All those components contributed to the seller’s market we’ve been in now for over a decade.

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