With the home shopping season well under way, Zillow took a look at recent data to determine markets where sellers have the power and those where buyers are in control.
The analysis shows many home sellers are thriving in the San Francisco, San Jose and Las Vegas metro areas, where price cuts are sparse and homes often sell for at or near their asking price.
On the other end of the spectrum, Zillow reported the Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland metros are buyers’ markets, with homes taking longer to sell and buyers logging average discounts of 5 percent off the asking price.
Zillow analyzed data on sale-to-list price ratio, number of days listings spent on Zillow and percent of homes on the market with a price cut, and ranked the 50 largest metro areas to determine whether buyers or sellers have more negotiating power in a given market.
In this analysis, a sellers’ market is not necessarily one where home values are rising, but is a market where sellers are more likely to sell their home for close to asking price and where listings spend less time on the market. A buyers’ market is one where buyers have more bargaining power, thanks to listings lingering longer on the market and sellers being forced to cut asking prices.
“It’s refreshing to see some markets swinging back in favor of sellers, with asking prices being met and listings spending fewer days on market,” Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries said in a statement on its website. “The housing recession has been long and rocky, and we’re seeing more balance during this summer selling season. Of course, many markets are still firmly in favor of buyers, and we expect that to continue until the recovery takes more of a hold nationwide."
Here is a list of where home sellers are thriving:
Local
1. SJ
2. SF
3. LAS VEGAS
4. SACRAMENTO
5. PHOENIX
6. RIVERSIDE
7. DC
8. LA
9. SALT LAKE
10. AUSTIN
