Florida, Texas markets rank tops for buyers in new Zillow index
Texas and Florida metros dominate the best places for buyers in Zillow’s new market heat index, securing seven of the top-10 spots. But most of the country’s 50 largest metros, and the U.S. at large, are in favor of sellers.
Nationwide, despite the popularity of price cuts and the surge of inventory coming on the market, there remains a desperate lack of homes on the market for buyers to choose from compared to pre-pandemic. So while the index is further in favor of buyers than any April since 2019, it’s still in seller’s territory.
See the latest breakdowns on April for-sale and rental April market trends.
A new metric that aims to capture the balance between housing supply and demand, Zillow’s market heat index takes into account the share of homes that go pending quickly — in 21 days or less — the share of homes with a price cut, and engagement on active Zillow listings in a market.
Zillow publishes a wide variety of metrics that dissect different aspects of real estate markets, but this index is a new way to visualize how market participants are feeling as they shop and transact – how much competition they can expect, and how it compares to the past and to other markets across the country. If fewer homes go pending quickly, more listings see price cuts or fewer buyers click on a listing, the index will trend toward buyers.
Competition among buyers is less intense than in recent spring shopping seasons, and is easing up instead of peaking – the result of high costs and an injection of listings. However, persistently low inventory means sellers generally have more power in negotiations than before the pandemic.
Would-be buyers who witnessed intense competition in sunny Texas and Florida markets earlier on in the pandemic aren’t seeing such a frenzy now, as strong construction in many of these markets has helped restore inventory levels. Austin and San Antonio are two of just three markets with more inventory now than pre-pandemic, while Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville have among the smallest deficits.
In part due to this relatively plentiful inventory, Florida metros make up three of the four markets considered to be “buyers markets” according to Zillow’s market heat index. An additional seven markets are considered to be “neutral” markets, with one of those in Florida and three more in Texas. The other 39 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas are either “sellers markets” or “strong sellers markets.”
The top market for sellers is Buffalo, New York, forecast by Zillow in January as the hottest market of 2024. Among the top ranks for sellers are more expensive (and inventory constrained) coastal tech hubs, relatively affordable markets in the Northeast – Hartford and Providence – and hot Upper Midwest metros Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Read more about the methodology here.