New housing market shift creates urgent decision for Americans

For years, many Americans hoping to buy a home have been stuck in a waiting game. They have waited for mortgage rates to come down and for the market to become generally more favorable for buyers.

That patience has not paid off the way many hoped. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sat at 6.47% as of June 18, and the Federal Reserve just held rates steady at its June meeting. For many buyers, the rate relief they’ve been hoping for continues to look increasingly out of reach.

Yet according to Dave Meyer, Head of Real Estate at BiggerPockets, the housing market has already shifted in buyers' favor in a way many are missing. In his June 2026 housing market update on the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, Meyer detailed what he called a "crucial recent shift." 

As homes sit on the market longer, negotiating power has moved from sellers to buyers across much of the country. The catch, he says, is that this window of leverage is already starting to close, leaving buyers with an urgent decision on whether to act now, or risk waiting too long. His advice to buyers is to stop waiting.

"Now is the time to take advantage before everyone else gets the message,” Meyer said.

What has shifted in the 2026 housing market

The shift Meyer is pointing to comes down to days on market, or how long a home sits before it goes under contract. When that number climbs, it signals that buyers hold the leverage over sellers. Right now, days on market are climbing.

"When days on market go up like they are right now, that tells us that buyers are gaining power," Meyer said. "And as a real estate investor, that is something you should be taking note of because that means that when you approach a new deal in a stabilizing market, you can be more aggressive about what you bid."

In plain terms, the longer homes sit, the more room buyers have to negotiate on purchase price, seller concessions, and more.

That leverage is emerging even amid a mostly flat housing market. Home prices nationally are rising less than 1% year over year by the Case-Shiller index, and inventory has held roughly level, signs that supply and demand are in rough balance rather than spiraling.

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Demand itself, while still low by historical standards, has actually risen from a year ago. Meyer explained, among other things, how mortgage applications reflect this.

Freddie Mac's latest figures also corroborate this, describing purchase demand as modestly improving even with the 30-year mortgage rate holding in the mid-6% range. Redfin now classifies a majority of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas as buyer's markets, with sellers outnumbering buyers nationwide.

All this being said, Meyer is clear that this opening will not last forever. In some markets, sellers are already adjusting, and the conditions that handed buyers an advantage are beginning to reverse. That is where the decision becomes more urgent for both real estate investors and everyday homebuyers.

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What the housing market shift means for buyers right now

Buyer leverage exists today, but Meyer's point is that it may not in six months, turning the question of whether to buy now or keep waiting into a time-sensitive one.

"The window of maximum leverage of when you're going to be able to have the most power over sellers as a buyer, that window might be closing soon," Meyer said. "It's not like today or next week, but like you can just see in the trends that that window is closing."

That trend is visible in the national data. Furthering the urgency Meyer describes, Redfin reported that sellers outnumbered buyers by roughly 47% in May, still a wide gap, but down from a peak of nearly 50% at the end of 2025. By Redfin's own assessment, it is no longer quite as strong a buyer's market as it once was.

Still, Meyer explains that the right move depends on the local market. In areas where prices have fallen but homes are selling faster and inventory is tightening, he sees a bottom forming and sellers regaining their footing. In these markets, Meyer says the time to act is soon before that leverage disappears.

In markets that are still softening, with rising inventory and homes sitting longer, buyers can afford to wait and demand a steep discount. 

"The only reason you shouldn't wait is if you get a screaming deal," Meyer said. "And that's the kind of deal you should insist on."

Meyer is careful to caution that none of this means buyers should rush in or that the broader market has turned easy. Borrowing costs are still elevated and home prices remain high, but there is real opportunity out there.

"You don't have to time the market perfectly," Meyer said. "You just have to adapt your strategy to what's going on in the market."

Key takeaways on current housing market

• The market has shifted in favor of buyers: Meyer points to homes sitting longer, which hands negotiating leverage to buyers rather than sellers, with Redfin now counting most of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas as buyer's markets.
• The window of buyer leverage is already narrowing: Nationally, the gap between sellers and buyers has eased from its December peak, per Redfin, and Meyer says that advantage is fading fastest in markets where sellers have begun to adjust.
• Don't count on falling rates: The Federal Reserve held rates steady in June and signaled it may raise them later this year rather than cut, with the average 30-year mortgage at 6.47% in mid-June, according to Freddie Mac.
• The right move depends on market: In areas where prices have bottomed and homes are selling faster, Meyer says to act before sellers regain the upper hand; in still-softening markets, he advises waiting and holding out for a steep discount.
• The bigger picture has not changed: Even in a buyer's market, financing remains expensive and home prices are still high by historical standards, making this a story about timing your leverage, not a broad return of affordability.

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