Rising inventory hands buyers rare leverage
US home prices rose 2.1% year over year in Q2 2026, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), but inflation continued to outpace appreciation, extending real-term home price declines despite positive nominal growth.https://t.co/7ilIElFiKx
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) August 25, 2026
Where buyers hold the most leverage
Supply reached 3.8 months of inventory nationally for the period, up from 3.7, still below the four-to-five-month range considered balanced, but trending toward it.
In several southern and western markets, conditions have shifted more meaningfully toward buyers. Redfin identified Miami, Nashville, and much of Texas as markets where buyers may be able to negotiate prices below asking or secure concessions including mortgage-rate buydowns.
A separate Redfin analysis found that late August and early September represent prime buying windows in 11 US metro areas, including much of California, Seattle, and a pair of New York City suburbs.
Regionally, the steepest year-over-year price declines appeared in Seattle (-4.6%), Austin, Texas (-3.7%), and Fort Worth, Texas (-1.7%), per Redfin’s metro-level data.
On the supply side, new listings rose most sharply in Virginia Beach, Virginia (up 14.3%), San Jose, California (up 13.3%), and Boston (up 9%).
