Realtor.com’s third-quarter market clock shows the national housing market has shifted further toward buyers, with the overall indicator now at “4 o’clock” — a late balanced market trending toward buyers — after moving one hour in buyers’ favor since the second quarter, the company reported Monday.
The Realtor.com analysis found that the number of outright sellers’ markets nationally fell from 39 to 27 over the past 12 months, while buyer’s markets rose from 13 to 17. The remaining 55 markets are classified as balanced, with 49 loosening toward buyers and six tightening in favor of sellers, according to the report.
Realtor.com said higher mortgage rates have been a key driver of the shift. The company’s senior economist, Jake Krimmel, noted mortgage rates rose about 74 basis points in a little more than a month, “jumping from 6.66% in late August to 7.4% on Oct. 8.” Realtor.com estimated that for a buyer with a $2,000 monthly principal-and-interest budget, that rate increase erased roughly $22,000 in home-purchasing power.
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The report attributed the market movement to slower sales and growing inventories as elevated borrowing costs reduce demand. Realtor.com said many sellers have responded by offering price cuts and concessions, giving buyers greater negotiating leverage even as higher rates limit what they can afford.
Regional differences
Realtor.com highlighted pronounced regional divergence. The Midwest remained the most seller-friendly region, accounting for 16 of the 27 seller-favorable markets, where relatively lower prices are keeping demand elevated and inventories constrained.
In contrast, the Northeast — despite an ongoing supply shortage — saw the largest drop in seller’s markets, from 11 to five over the past year, as inventory rose in higher-cost metros such as Boston and Providence. The South led the country in buyer’s markets, gaining three since September 2025 to reach 14 total while the number of seller’s markets in the region fell from seven to two.
The West moved from having no buyer’s markets in June to three by September, with Bakersfield and Riverside, California, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, switching into buyer-friendly territory, the report said.
At the metro level, Realtor.com identified Greenville, South Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee, as peak buyer’s markets. Hartford, Connecticut, was the sole metro described as a peak seller’s market.
Realtor.com’s market clock is intended to show relative leverage between buyers and sellers across U.S. metros; the firm’s report and quoted commentary were the source for the figures and regional breakdowns cited above.
