Market Data
Housing market trends.
A working framework for reading housing markets — inventory, rates, absorption, and migration. Connect with agents who pull live MLS data and submarket reports, not stale national headlines.
Find a local market expert →01
Five drivers: rates, inventory, wage growth, household formation, net migration.
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Buyer vs seller market: months of supply, list-to-sale ratio, DOM thresholds.
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Rate-lock dynamics: why low-rate sellers keep inventory constrained.
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Submarket reads: pulling the right MLS hot-sheet for your ZIP.
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Frequently asked questions
- What drives housing market trends right now?
- Mortgage rates, inventory (months of supply), wage growth, household formation, and net migration are the five core drivers. Since 2022, the dominant story has been rate-locked sellers — homeowners with sub-4% mortgages refusing to list — keeping inventory tight even as demand softened.
- How do I know if it's a buyer's or seller's market?
- Months of inventory is the clearest signal: under 4 months favors sellers, over 6 favors buyers, 4-6 is balanced. Layer in list-to-sale ratio (above 100% = bidding wars) and median days on market. National headlines lie — always check your ZIP.
- Should I wait for rates or prices to drop?
- Historically, timing markets fails. Rate-and-price tradeoffs matter more: lower rates often coincide with higher prices and more competition. The right answer depends on your hold period, equity goal, and rent-vs-buy breakeven in your exact submarket.
- Where do reliable market trend reports come from?
- NAR Existing Home Sales (monthly), Redfin Data Center, Realtor.com Research, Zillow Market Reports, and your local MLS hot-sheet. National data sets context; local MLS is what your agent should be quoting.