Housing market shift: 14 states where homebuyers have gained the most power

"When assessing home price momentum, believes it's important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate pricing softness or weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings could suggest a market that is heating up. Since the national Pandemic Housing Boom fizzled out in 2022, the national power dynamic has slowly been shifting directionally from sellers to buyers."

"National active listings are on the rise (+21% from August 2024 tod August 2025). This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year. Some seller's markets have turned into balanced markets, and more balanced markets have turned into buyer's markets. Nationally, we're still below pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels (-11% from August 2019), and some resale markets, in particular chunks of the Midwest and Northeast, still remain tight-ish."

Active listings and months of supply are key indicators of home price momentum; rising active listings combined with longer market times signal pricing softness, while rapid declines indicate market heating. The Pandemic Housing Boom faded in 2022, and the national balance of power has gradually shifted from sellers toward buyers, though regional variation is substantial. Markets where active inventory has exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels generally show weaker price growth or declines over the past 36 months. Markets where inventory remains below 2019 levels have shown more resilient price growth. National active listings rose 21% year over year but remain 11% below August 2019 levels, with some resale markets still tight and recent delistings slowing inventory growth.

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