Buyer-Seller Gap Widens in Housing Market
Sellers outnumber buyers by 500K nationwide, the widest gap in over a decade, as listings rise and buyers remain cautious amid high mortgage rates.
NEW YORK — Sellers are outnumbering buyers in housing markets across the United States, the biggest such gap in more than a decade, a Redfin analysis found.
The number of homes for sale is on the rise, but buyers have not re-entered the market as expected, with about 500,000 more sellers than buyers in April. As a result, sellers are offering concessions, such as paying for buyers' closing costs, and cutting house prices so buyers have the upper hand in the housing market.
Still, many buyers priced out of the market because mortgage interest rates remain stubbornly high. Buyers also continue to see economic uncertainty, which has many putting off larger purchases
Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research, expects this mismatch to lead to lower house prices across the nation later in 2025. She adds, "It doesn't feel like buyer demand is going to come back that much. Prices are just too high."
Realtor.com found that active listings are still about 14% below average prepandemic levels but rose in May to the highest level since 2019. Buyers are holding an advantage in Southwest and Southeast markets. The Miami metro area, for example, had almost three times as many sellers as buyers in April. The Midwest and northeast markets, however, have more buyers than sellers, and buyers continue to experience competition from other buyers in those markets.
Source: Wall Street Journal (06/14/25) Friedman, Nicole
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