According to a recent Realtor.com study, as more cities shifted into buyer-friendly conditions, home buyers ended the year on a high note in Sun Belt metros that shifted farther into buyer’s market territory, with rising inventory, longer listing periods, and more pricing flexibility from sellers.
With an emphasis on months of supply, Realtor.com researchers examined housing data from the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas. The vast majority of the top ten buyer’s markets that they discovered were located in the West or the South. A newcomer to the ranking, Riverside, CA, secured the seventh position. Further, the list of buyer’s markets has expanded beyond that select group to include 18 metro areas with more than six months’ supply.
The months of supply statistic shows how many months it would take to sell every home on the market, including those that are still on the market, at the present rate of sales. The market is sluggish and buyers have more negotiation power when the number of months of supply is higher. Generally speaking, if supply falls below four months, it is a seller’s market. It is a balanced market if supply lasts four to six months. A buyer’s market is indicated when supply lasts longer than six months.
Sun Belt Metros Seeing a Rise in New Home Listings
The months of supply increased to 10.5 in inventory-rich Austin, Texas, and 8.2 and 7.9 in Orlando and Tampa, FL, respectively, which were followed by 7.7 in the Big Apple (New York). Nashville, TN (7.3), Jacksonville, FL (7.2), and Atlanta (7.1) rounded out the top 10, while Las Vegas and Riverside, CA (both had their months of supply reach 7.4 in November), were other locations that gave home buyers more options and more negotiating power.
Riverside, CA, has been one of the top metro areas for delistings, Krimmel noted, where irate sellers remove their homes from the market after not getting the price they desire. San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, TN, Tucson, AZ, Oklahoma City, Raleigh, NC, Birmingham, AL, and Denver joined the list of metro areas with more than six months of housing supply, doubling the number of buyer’s markets between October and November 2025.
Examining the top five buyer’s markets (metros with more than six months of housing supply):
1. Miami, FL
- Months of supply: 11.5
- January median list price: $500,000
2. Austin, Texas
- Months of supply: 10.5
- January median list price: $455,000
3. Orlando, FL
- Months of supply: 8.2
- January median list price: $415,000
4. Tampa, FL
- Months of supply: 7.9
- January median list price: $399,727
5. New York, NY
- Months of supply: 7.7
- January median list price: $749,000
Note: Economists used November sales data, including both new and existing home sales, from the Realtor.com public records database, as well as multiple listing service sales figures when available, to calculate the months of supply.
“The Magic City” Boasts the Best Buyer’s Market
With its months of supply rising to 11.5 by the end of November 2025, the most recent month for which data is available, Miami solidified its standing as the country’s top buyer’s market. That means selling every listing in the city would take almost a year. Since last summer, when it first crossed the six-month supply threshold into buyer’s market zone, Miami has been at the top of the list.
When the supply data was last examined in November 2025, Miami’s median list price was $500,000, a 4.8% decrease from the year before. The pricing had not altered by January. To put things in perspective, Miami’s property prices have been around $100,000 higher than the national median, and “Magic City” has the most $1 million listings in the country. However, these facts should not be overlooked: A cheap market is not always a buyer’s market. Instead, it’s a setting where consumers have more power.
“It’s about price pressures and the direction the market is headed, not about the absolute level of prices,” said Jake Krimmel, Senior Economist at Realtor.com. “Places like Miami are expensive because prices ran up during the [COVID-19] boom, and those price levels don’t reset overnight. What has changed is the balance of power in markets like Miami, where homes are sitting longer and the pace of sales has slowed.”
The length of time a property remains on the market in Miami is mostly dependent on the listing itself, according to Cara Ameer, a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty in Florida, who spoke to Realtor.com.
“Properties that are turnkey and move-in ready will command top dollar depending on the location and may move quickly,” Ameer said. “Things that are overpriced relative to the condition will likely sit on the market. Sellers may be unrealistic about their asking price but will still consider offers.”
Listing brokers are frequently “quietly battling” obstinate sellers behind the scenes to change their price—and expectations—in order to draw in buyers, according to Ameer. However, she notes that Miami’s thriving luxury market is its own “niche” where buyers are largely cash-only and unaffected by inflation or high borrowing rates, but they are still searching for the ideal home to meet their housing demands.
Ameer suggests arriving prepared with finance in place, performing extensive research to find the ideal property in the ideal location, and engaging in assertive negotiations for buyers wishing to purchase real estate in Miami this year.
“Don’t be afraid to ask sellers for concessions—such as contributions toward closing costs or buying down the interest rate,” Ameer said. “That can make a meaningful difference for affordability.”
The top five buyer’s markets as of November were Austin, Texas; Orlando, FL; Tampa, FL; and New York City, which are all significantly popular metro areas.
According to Ameer, Florida metros’ high ranking in the buyer’s market indicates a post-pandemic shift in the market.
“As a result of the Florida pandemic boom where property values exploded, many other costs went up exponentially as well, between condo dues, interest rates, insurance, construction costs, moving, and general inflation with the costs of goods and services, which impacts a real estate move,” she said. “Just like the old adage, what comes up must come down. Many Florida markets are having to readjust for these factors, which translates into price cuts.”
The post Home Listings Heighten as Market Shifts in Buyer’s Favor first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
