What Is a Buyer’s Market and a Seller’s Market?

Many of us, at some point, are looking to buy a home for the first time, and we can come across confusing terms that need clarification. By learning such terms, you remove the potential feelings of inadequacy when you talk to industry professionals. Plus, you’ll be in a better position to make informed decisions.

In this instance, you’ve probably searched for the term “what is a buyer’s market?” Or you might have searched a similar term regarding a seller’s market or both. 

Whatever the case, we will now run through a basic and straightforward guide explaining these concepts. This way, you’ll feel more confidence and clarity when looking to buy a property.

Basic Definitions

When concerning the housing market, a buyer’s market is one where the demand for housing is less than the supply. Put simply, in this scenario, more people are wanting to sell their homes than there are people who want to buy a home.

So it may seem obvious then that a seller’s market is the opposite of a buyer’s market. More people want to sell their homes than people are willing to buy homes.

If the demand is higher for homes, house prices are likely to go up. If the supply is more than demand, then prices may go down.

Housing Prices

In the real estate market, we can try to determine home prices by looking at supply and demand, as mentioned above. But there are often patterns that occur in the housing market throughout the year.

For instance, in the late summer months, we will often see house prices at their highest. Then as we move into fall, we tend to see house prices fall.

So in the late summer, you might experience a buyer’s market if demand exceeds supply. The opposite may be true in the fall and winter months if people don’t wish to buy homes so much. Click for more if you would like to learn additional info about this.

Market Trends

Now, one important thing to consider is that there are local, regional, and national markets that come into play with the housing market. The national market trend towards a buyer’s or seller’s market is a general trend for the nation.

However, there may be local and regional markets that don’t follow the national trend. So our best advice when house hunting is to try and find out the market trend in the area you wish to buy, as well as regional and national trends.

What Is a Buyer’s Market Explained

The question of “what is a buyer’s market?” has a straightforward answer. However, there are more complex issues that surround it. 

As you can see, although the definition of a buyer’s market and seller’s market is pretty easy to understand, it can still be a challenge to know which one you are in right now. This is because there are various economic factors at play. Therefore, we suggest you find a reputable real estate agent to help you with this.

So thanks for checking out this quick explanatory post. If you found the post useful, why not check out some other articles on our blog?