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The market seems to be thawing a bit, though: The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) predicts existing-home sales will be up 7 to 12 percent in 2025 and 10 to 15 percent next year.
Before we peer into our crystal ball, let’s take a snapshot of how things stand currently. “If a first-time homebuyer retreated to the sidelines during the last couple of years, the conditions are slightly better now,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and VP of research. “There are fewer bidding wars for homes, and we’re starting to see more inventory come to the market. Interest rates have stabilized, the job market is strong and home prices are still growing, but not at rates as high as before.”
Will we shift into a buyer’s market?
It’s debatable. Lautz expects the current seller’s market to persist: “To be a balanced market, there would need to be more housing inventory,” she says. “The struggle has been the lack of inventory — in the U.S., we’re short about 5 million homes nationwide. As we ended 2024, more inventory started coming to market, but it has not been consistent.”