Zillow reports that slower demand from buyers has more homes for sale now than at any time since 2019. And with homes lingering on the market and less competition for them, a long-anticipated balance of power between buyers and sellers looks to be on the horizon.
In a market filled with uncertainty, the nation’s home sellers held the upper hand through most of the past five years, as demand for homes far outweighed the options available. With sellers returning to the market in greater numbers, along with a surge in new construction, the scales are balancing, and competition among buyers is lower than any June in Zillow records dating back through 2018.
However, affordability remains a major challenge, with the typical U.S. home value at $367,369. The average monthly mortgage payment, assuming a 20% downpayment, stood at $1,929 in June—0.6% less than last year, but is up 111.3% since before the pandemic.
Home values climbed month-over-month in 31 of the 50 largest metro areas in June, with the largest gains reported in:
- Buffalo, New York (1.9%)
- Cleveland, Ohio (1.4%)
- Hartford, Connecticut (1.3%)
- Detroit, Michigan (1.2%)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1.2%)
Home values fell, on a monthly basis, in 16 major metro areas. The largest monthly drops were reported in:
- San Jose, California (-1.1%)
- San Francisco, California (-0.8%)
- Miami, Florida (-0.5%)
- Austin, Texas (-0.5%)
- Tampa, Florida (-0.4%)
“The shift to a ‘neutral’ market is significant, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for a universally cool or easy market for buyers,” said Kara Ng, Zillow Senior Economist. “While negotiating power is more balanced, the affordability crisis remains a high barrier to entry, especially for first-time buyers. Until we see a more meaningful improvement in purchasing power, this newfound balance will primarily benefit more well-off buyers.”
Zillow reports that inventory is still roughly 21% below pre-pandemic averages for June 2025, but that deficit is expected to continue shrinking. Zillow forecasts inventory to approach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025.
Zillow data shows 1.36 million listings active on the market in June, rising 2.3% from May and up 17.2% year-over-year from last June. The last time that many houses were for sale was November 2019. New listings stepped down significantly from May to June, dropping 10.9%. Some of that is likely seasonal—new listings peaked in May in 2018, 2019, and 2024. But some potential sellers are also seeing slower sales in many markets and deciding to hold off.
Home value growth is at a standstill, and mortgage costs have ticked down slightly year-over-year, but high prices and borrowing costs are still putting up high affordability hurdles for buyers, especially first-time buyers.
New Market Entries Gain Leverage
For those entering the homebuying market, the state of the industry means buyers have a greater array of options to choose from, have more time to decide on their desired destination, and have bargaining power in their favor. Sellers are losing their stranglehold over the market, as they need to price more realistically, reduce their expectations, and highlight unique characteristics of their properties to set them apart from the competition.
Zillow also found that buyers are not feeling rushed in most markets, as listings that do sell do so in 19 days—just one day faster than before the pandemic (compared to 15 days in 2024, and 11 days in 2023).
Data found that that sellers were adjusting prices at record rates to entice sales, as the share of listings with a price cut reached 26.6% in June 2025, the highest share for any June in Zillow records that date back through 2018, and closing in on an all-time high of 27% from September 2022. Price cuts were most commonly found among Sun Belt and Mountain West markets that witnessed massive appreciation early in the pandemic, with cuts were most common in Denver (38%), Raleigh (36%), Dallas (36%), Phoenix (35%), and Nashville (35%).
Click here for more on Zillow’s home sale findings for June 2025.
The post U.S. Housing Inventory Nears Five-Year High first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
