Miami Leads Buyer’s Market Rise with 1.6 x More Sellers Than Purchasers
The U.S. real estate market is tilting sharply in favor of purchasers, with February 2026 seeing a record 46% more home sellers than buyers, according to a new report from Redfin. In absolute terms, that total up to approximately 629,808 more homes on the market than buyers seeking them, marking the best gap given that Redfin began tracking the information in 2013.
A year earlier, sellers surpassed buyers by 29.8%, or 449,409 homes. Redfin defines a market with more than 10% more sellers than buyers as a “buyer’s market,” a status the U.S. real estate market has held given that May 2024.
“When sellers outnumber purchasers this heavily, it offers buyers significant working out power, provided they can afford to purchase,” stated Justin Gomez, a Redfin Premier agent in Omaha, Nebraska. “We’re seeing far more stock than in the previous 2 years due to the fact that home loan rate lock-ins are easing and brand-new construction is increase. For more youthful buyers, this is enhancing affordability. Two years ago, bidding wars of $15,000 over asking prevailed; now purchasers have choices.”
Buyer Retreat Spurs Some Sellers to Draw Back
Redfin’s data shows the number of property buyers decreased 2.4% month-over-month in February to an estimated 1.36 million, while sellers fell just 0.4% to roughly 1.99 million. Increasing home mortgage rates, raised home rates, layoffs, and economic unpredictability have actually led many prospective buyers to step back, triggering some house owners– much of whom are themselves possible buyers– to delay or cancel listings.
Relistings are starting to tick upward, recommending real estate supply could broaden, and brand-new listings posted their second successive week of growth after 4 months of declines.
Southern Cities Offer the very best Deals
The greatest purchaser’s markets are concentrated in the Sun Belt. Miami led with an estimated 163% more sellers than buyers, followed by Nashville (120%), Austin (112%), West Palm Beach (110%) and San Antonio (104%). The surge in southern housing supply shows both high levels of new building and construction and a slowdown in buyers, especially those evaluated by rising home expenses.
“New building and construction heavily affects working out power,” Redfin notes, as the South and West have actually historically provided the most constructing authorizations, while the Northeast and Midwest lag behind. Florida and Texas in particular continue to add inventory, though Florida deals with difficulties from increasing insurance expenses, natural catastrophes, and increasing condominium fees, which have driven some house owners to leave.
Northeast Remains Seller-Friendly
By contrast, the greatest seller’s markets are focused in the Northeast. Newark, New Jersey topped the list, with 31.1% less sellers than buyers. Other tight markets consisted of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (-29%), Nassau County, New York (-25.8%), Milwaukee (-25.2%) and New Brunswick, New Jersey (-14.5%).
Across these 5 markets, home rates rose approximately 2.2% year-over-year in February, compared with a modest 0.3% increase in the 37 recognized purchaser’s markets, underscoring the take advantage of advantage held by buyers in areas with excess inventory.