Homebuyers gain a slight edge in Kansas City
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Homebuyers in Kansas City may be seeing some benefits from the nationwide buyer's market in real estate.
The big picture: There are nearly 500,000 more home sellers than buyers across the U.S. housing market, Redfin estimates.
- It's a reversal from just a few years ago, when homebuyers outnumbered sellers and were desperate to find a place to live, sending prices into the stratosphere.
Context: Redfin counted sellers as the number of active listings in a given area and created a model to estimate the total buyers.
Zoom in: Kansas City's market is more balanced than that of other metros, with only 2.3% more sellers than buyers.
- The average metro home price remained nearly even with the previous year at about $326,000, according to the report.
What they're saying: "Because buyers are being more picky, I think the ones that are overpriced are sitting," David Conderman, operating principal of KW Kansas City Metro, told the Kansas City Business Journal.
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.
Yes, but: For home sellers, "the mortgage rate lock-in effect is easing," per Redfin. "For most people, it's not realistic to stay put forever; job changes, return-to-office mandates and divorce force people to move."
Between the lines: Buying a home remains out of reach for most Americans, as the National Association of Realtors pointed out in a recent report.
- The median price of homes sold in the U.S. in the first three months of this year was $417,000, per federal data — 33% more than during the same period in 2019, before the housing market went haywire, outpacing inflation and incomes.
What to watch: Historically, when sellers outnumber buyers, prices drop. And in some markets, prices have already started falling.
Emily Peck contributed to this story.