Home buyers are getting mixed signals from the housing market. Home prices and mortgage rates remain elevated, but sellers may be more willing to negotiate. The market has left buyers asking, Is it a buyer’s market — or not?
“Waiting for the perfect housing market is a little like waiting for every traffic light to turn green before you leave the house,” says Gary Lanham, broker associate at LoKation Real Estate in Pompano Beach, Fla. “There probably won’t be a moment when mortgage rates, home prices, inventory and the economy all line up perfectly.”
Weighing Mixed Signals About a Buyer’s Market
These conflicting signals are confusing potential buyers about whether it’s a buyer’s market:
Positives
- More negotiating power: Room to negotiate price, closing costs, repairs, mortgage rate buydown or terms.
- Less pressure: More time to decide without pressure whether to overbid or waive protections.
- Appreciation: Buyers who can afford home ownership and plan to stay several years can build equity.
Negatives
- Elevated mortgage rates: Mid-6% rates weigh on payments and purchasing power.
- High home prices: Prices remain near record highs in many markets.
- Uneven inventory: Choices can be limited, particularly at lower price points.
Consider the Long Game and Risk of Delay
The median price of existing homes sold reached $440,600, an all-time high, in June 2026, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Mortgage rates also remain elevated, in the mid- to high-6% range.
Despite prices, buyers may want to consider the long game. NAR estimates the typical homeowner has accumulated more than $214,000 in home equity over the past 10 years. Those gains equal about three years of household income nationally.
“Homeowners who stay in their homes over time can build wealth that would otherwise take years of income to accumulate,” says Nadia Evangelou, a senior economist and director of real estate research at NAR.
Further, waiting for lower mortgage rates can be a gamble, says Ashley Harris, director of home buying education at Neighbors Bank, Columbia, Mo. Buyers can refinance if rates fall, but they risk losing purchasing power in the meantime. “There’s a math problem buyers often miss,” Harris says. For a buyer with an $1,800 monthly mortgage budget, a 4% rate supports a loan of about $378,000. At 6%, that same payment supports only about $300,000. “You’ve lost nearly $80,000 in purchasing power without your income changing at all,” she says. “Waiting for rates to drop means you’re also betting that home prices won’t climb back up while you wait. In most markets, that’s not a safe bet.”
Can I Afford to Buy Now?
A general housing cost guideline is to spend 30% or less of gross monthly income. However, you should consider the full financial picture, including other debt, savings, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs.
Online mortgage calculators are a starting point, but a no-strings-attached mortgage preapproval offers a more in-depth look at what loan amount you qualify for. Lenders review your income, credit, debt, assets and other finances.
What Are the Pluses of Buying Now?
Sellers may be more willing to negotiate, particularly on homes that have lingered on the market or need updating, says Alex Rodino, founder of the Alexander Rodino Collective, a real estate team with Keller Williams Realty Coastal Area Partners in Savannah, Ga. You may also be able to negotiate seller-paid closing costs, temporary rate buydowns, repair credits, inspection negotiations or more-flexible closing timelines.
“The buyers who stay prepared while everyone else sits on the sidelines often gain leverage,” Rodino says. “They may have more time to inspect the home, more room to negotiate seller concessions and a better chance of avoiding emotional bidding wars. The goal is to identify where the market gives you leverage and use that leverage to create a safer deal.”
Factor in Local Data About Buyer’s Market Status
“Stop reading the [national] headlines and talk to an experienced, trusted agent who’s actually working in your market,” says Michelle Price, a real estate pro with Michelle Price Realty Group in Westlake Village, Calif. Agents can share data showing recent sales, price reductions, inventory and other local indicators. Members of the NAR can access and share data from NAR’s Market Statistics Dashboard, which offers monthly local data on prices, sales and listing trends, and more.
Rodino shows his clients patterns in the data where the market is moving. For example, “I do not look at list price by itself. I look at list price as feedback,” Rodino says. “If similar homes are selling quickly in a range, that is one signal. If they are sitting and reducing, that is another.”
Know Why You’re Waiting
“If a move is driven by life, a job, a growing family or even military orders, the market is context, not the decision,” Rodino says. If the decision rests on finances, run the numbers under conservative assumptions and see if it still works, he suggests. If the answer is to wait, “wait with purpose — with a number or a date that would change your mind.” Waiting with purpose could mean saving a certain amount, improving your credit, paying down debt or reaching a monthly payment that fits your budget.
“Every buyer has a reason to wait,” Harris says. “But every month that passes is another month of paying rent instead of building equity. At some point, that math stops making sense.”
Melissa Dittmann Tracey is an award-winning journalist covering the housing market. You can hear her weekly as the host of Real Estate Today. She is also the creator of the Styled, Staged & Sold blog and a contributing editor for REALTOR® News. Follow her on Instagram @housingmuse.
