It's a homebuyer's market — except in Boston
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It may be a homebuyer's market in other U.S. cities, but home sellers had a slight upper hand in Boston this spring, per Redfin estimates.
The big picture: There are nearly 500,000 more home sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market — the widest gap on record, Axios' Sami Sparber and Emily Peck reported.
- But some cities are bucking the trend, especially in the Northeast, where the cost of living is high and housing supply remains low.
By the numbers: There were 7% more buyers than sellers in the Boston metro area in April, making it what's known as a "balanced market," per Redfin data.
- The median home price at the time was 742,000, a 5.2% increase from April 2024 and one of the highest of the 50 cities analyzed by Redfin.
Zoom out: The home seller's advantage was even more pronounced in other Northeast cities.
- In April, there were 16% more buyers than sellers in Providence, nearly 19% more buyers than sellers in the New Brunswick, New Jersey, metro area and nearly 42% more buyers than sellers in the Nassau County, NY metro area.
Yes, but: A variety of factors driving costs are making it hard for buyers to afford homes, even in the metro areas where they have the advantage.
Where it stands: The one-two punch of still-high home prices and high mortgage rates is making it hard for buyers, especially first-timers, to find a place they can afford.
- Add to that, the extreme economic uncertainty of 2025. Tariff news, layoff fears and, for many federal workers, layoff realities, are tamping down buyer demand.
Between the lines: Buying a home is still far out of reach for most Americans, as the National Association of Realtors pointed out in a recent report.
- The median price of a home sold in the U.S. in the first three months of this year was $417,000, per federal data — 33% more than it was during the same period in 2019, before the housing market went haywire, outpacing inflation and incomes.