Some of the nation’s hottest housing markets have cooled significantly for several years, and the Sunbelt region is also cooling down.
Take Nashville, Tennessee, for example. In the first six months of 2022, the median listing price jumped 24%, from $453,000 to $561,468. The peak was reached in July 2023 ($590,000). Since then, Nashville listing prices have slowed, dropping to a median price of $529,000 in March 2026. The spectacular growth simply wasn’t sustainable.
The change from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market is perhaps most pronounced in the Sunbelt region, but real estate markets across the country have changed over the past few years. As a result, both buyers and sellers need to reevaluate how they conduct transactions. For sellers, this means they may need to think more realistically and strategically about marketing and pricing their homes. However, buyers should remain wary if the market suddenly tilts in their favor.
Just because it’s a buyer’s market doesn’t mean you can feel safe.
Miami; Nashville; Austin, Texas. West Palm Beach, Florida. The strongest buyer’s market right now is San Antonio and San Antonio, according to a Redfin analysis comparing the number of buyers to the number of sellers in the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States. These researchers say it is a buyer’s market when there are more than 10% more sellers than buyers. All five metro areas mentioned above have extreme buyers’ markets, with at least 100% more sellers than buyers.
Redfin reported that nationally, there were 46% more sellers than buyers in February, the largest gap in favor of buyers since the dataset began in 2013. But that doesn’t mean buyers can relax in these areas.
The biggest threat to home buyers in a buyer’s market is being tempted to overpay because they appear to have the upper hand.
In recent years, there has been a widespread belief that home prices are rarely too expensive, as home prices continue to rise in fast-growing markets like Austin. Of course, volatility should always be expected, whether we’re talking about cryptocurrencies or a hot housing market.
But sellers are getting unnecessarily crafty in controlling the market because they don’t want to lose money by lowering prices in these areas of reversal. Sellers are increasingly offering incentives to reluctant buyers, such as credits for updates such as a new roof, new furnace, new carpet, or new paint, but they are not lowering the sales price.
This means that, as a buyer, you are essentially financing these elements for the next 30 years, and the sale price remains the same, sacrificing potential home equity.
This is a pain for the seller, a benefit for the real estate agent (because they get a commission on the sale price), but can be detrimental to the buyer in the long run. You risk robbing Peter to pay Paul, accruing even more interest over time and potentially overpaying on the house itself.
And it’s not just a trap that can occur when buying a used home. Incentives are especially common in newly built homes. Builders were about twice as likely to offer incentives rather than price reductions in April, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Therefore, buyer beware. Most markets these days may be in your favor, but don’t let your guard down.
Stay calm even when financial emotions come into play
While buyer mood may be better in some areas than it was a few years ago, the overall outlook is far from rosy. That can add even more emotion to an already emotional process, like buying a home.
According to a popular University of Michigan study dating back to the 1950s, the Iran war not only forced higher mortgage rates, but also depressed consumer confidence to an all-time low. Much of that response has to do with rising prices and interest rates.
Pending home sales hit a record low earlier this year, but have since slowly recovered. But with uncertainty and upward price pressure, it’s understandable that many people are reluctant to make big purchases. A home is the largest purchase most people will ever make. Still, sometimes you don’t have a choice.
People move for reasons far beyond mortgage rates and home prices. Perhaps you need more space to accommodate the birth of a child, or perhaps you’re looking to move for a new career opportunity. There are a lot of emotions involved in these decisions, as well as emotions associated with the economy as a whole, but it is important to remain calm and not allow those emotions, along with the assumed buyer’s market, to force you to make snap decisions.
conclusion
You need to make the decision that is best for you and your family. Is now the best time to buy a home in recent memory? Things are improving for buyers in many areas, although this is hardly the case.
For the housing market to truly accelerate, inventory needs to increase and mortgage rates need to fall. Both take time. But as they say, all news is local. That’s true of the U.S. housing market (which is actually a collection of local markets). And this adage rings even truer at the household level. Whether now is the right time to buy a home depends more on your family and financial situation than macroeconomic conditions.
Either way, when you’re making big financial decisions, whether it’s buying or selling, it’s easy to let market news seep into your head. “Buyer’s market,” “seller’s market,” “hot market,” “cool market” — what really matters is staying focused on your goals, needs, and questions. Don’t let ambient noise or emotions factor into your decision-making.
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