PR Newswire·Jul 21, 2026, 6:00 AM ET

Realtor.com® Market Clock® Tool Expands to 100 Metros, Reveals the Most Buyer-Friendly Spring in Years

NWS

Realtor.com's Market Clock tool now covers 100 U.S. metros, confirming the spring of 2026 is the most buyer-friendly since 2018.
70% of the top 100 markets favor buyers or are trending that way, up from 52% last year, while 19% are outright buyer's markets.
The national market sits at 3 o'clock in a "Balanced-Loosening" phase, though local variation spans nine of the twelve clock positions.
Regional divides are distinct: the South holds 18 of 19 buyer's markets, the Northeast has all 5 tightening markets, the Midwest remains seller-leaning, and the West trends buyer-friendly.
Hartford, Connecticut, is the only metro at 12 o'clock (peak seller), while Colorado Springs moved to 7 o'clock (deep buyer territory) in one year.
36 metros loosened toward buyers over the past year versus only 4 that tightened, with 23 of 24 changing metros moving in buyers' favor.
Six metros moved two full hours toward buyers in Q2 2026, including Cape Coral, Cleveland, North Port, Portland, Providence, and Syracuse.
Three metros moved two hours toward sellers: Bridgeport, El Paso, and Fresno.
Listing prices per square foot fell year-over-year in 60 of the top 100 metros, with a national median list price drop of roughly 2.5%.
Pending sales have risen for seven consecutive months, marking the most active spring in four years.
Price cuts remain elevated at one in five listings but are declining as sellers price realistically from the start.
Memphis, San Antonio, and Houston are nearing the crossover into buyer's territory, while the New York region remains the only area where sellers are regaining leverage.
Rochester, New York, is excluded from this quarter's data due to a county-level data outage.
The methodology uses April 2026 transaction records to synthesize market balance, pace, momentum, and pricing pressure into a single clock position.