As the housing market continues to shift, certain metros are becoming better places to buy and sell homes. The ResiClub blog rounded up the top 200 housing markets for both buyers and sellers and found markets in the Northeast and Midwest have been tighter this year, while many areas in the Sun Belt have been weaker. Many New York metros—Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany—top the list of markets where sellers hold the most power. In contrast, the coldest markets—those where buyers have the upper hand—are mostly Southern cities, such as Beaumont, Texas, and Gulfport, Miss.
Unlike many Sun Belt housing markets, many Northeast and Midwest markets have lower levels of homebuilding. As new supply becomes available in Southwest and Southeast markets, and builders use affordability adjustments like buydowns to move it, it has created an additional cooling effect in the resale market. The Northeast and Midwest don’t have that same level of new supply, so resale/existing homes are pretty much the only game in town.