Buyers Gain the Upper Hand: Miami Tops 10 US Metros Where You Can Haggle

Buyers are winning in the real estate USA market — here’s where to press your advantage

The real estate USA market is shifting and buyers are getting leverage after years of seller control. If you remember 2020 and the frantic bidding wars that followed, this is not that market. Supply has grown, demand has softened under higher mortgage rates and still-high prices, and listings are staying on the market longer. That combination is creating windows of negotiation for buyers in specific metros.

In our analysis of the recent Realtor.com ranking, we look at the 10 metropolitan areas where homebuyers have the most bargaining power. We explain how the ranking works, why southern Sun Belt metros dominate the list, and what buyers, sellers and investors should do next. Expect hard numbers, practical tactics and a frank read on risks.

How Realtor.com measured bargaining power

Realtor.com used a simple, market-focused measure to identify where buyers have the most leverage: months of supply. Months of supply is the time it would take to sell all active and pending listings at the current sales pace. It's a demand-supply snapshot that real estate professionals use to classify market balance.

• A lower months-of-supply number suggests a seller-favored market with strong demand and quick turnover.
• A higher months-of-supply number indicates more inventory and weaker demand, which gives buyers room to negotiate.

Realtor.com paired months of supply with median listing prices for each metro to give context. Business Insider republished those findings with the figures for the top 10 metros. We report those exact numbers below and explain what they mean for negotiations and price trajectories.

The 10 metros where buyers now have the most leverage

Here are the 10 metros identified by Realtor.com, listed from most buyer leverage to least within the top group. For each I include the median listing price and months of supply as reported.

1. Miami, Florida
   • Median listing price: $500,000
   • Months of supply: 9.8
2. Austin, Texas
   • Median listing price: $462,000
   • Months of supply: 9.5
3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
   • Median listing price: $240,000
   • Months of supply: 8.6
4. Orlando, Florida
   • Median listing price: $415,500
   • Months of supply: 7.4
5. New York, New York
   • Median listing price: $749,939
   • Months of supply: 7.1
6. Tampa, Florida
   • Median listing price: $399,900
   • Months of supply: 7.0
7. Las Vegas, Nevada
   • Median listing price: $465,500
   • Months of supply: 6.9
8. (tie) Raleigh, North Carolina
   • Median listing price: $440,000
   • Months of supply: 6.5
9. (tie) Jacksonville, Florida
   • Median listing price: $382,500
   • Months of supply: 6.5
10. Atlanta, Georgia
    • Median listing price: $400,000
    • Months of supply: 6.3
11. Nashville, Tennessee

• Median listing price: $529,500
• Months of supply: 6.2

These figures come directly from the Realtor.com data set published and highlighted by Business Insider. A few things stand out from raw numbers alone:

• Miami and Austin top the list with nearly 10 and 9.5 months of supply, respectively, well above the rest.
• Florida dominates: Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville are on the list, giving the state the largest representation.
• Price range is wide: from $240,000 median in Pittsburgh to $749,939 in New York.

Why the Sun Belt, and Florida in particular, lead this list

There are two main forces at work here: supply growth and demand softening. Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said that in Florida "growing supply has coincided with softening demand amid rising housing costs that have pushed more buyers to the sidelines." She added that new construction has continued to add inventory while affordability constraints have reduced buyer activity.

Put plainly:

• Builders in many Sun Belt metros kept adding units after the pandemic boom. That added supply now shows up as extra inventory.
• Mortgage rates rose from historic lows, increasing monthly payments and cutting into buyer budgets.
• Elevated home prices in many coastal and Sun Belt markets shifted marginal buyers out of the market.

Florida has a double effect: strong recent construction plus a large cohort of buyers who priced themselves out as listing prices rose. That combination is why Miami sits at 9.8 months of supply—a number more typical of a buyer's market than of the overheated conditions we saw a few years ago.

What this means for buyers: tactics and opportunities

For buyers in these metros, higher months of supply equals leverage. But leverage isn't automatic; it must be used. From our experience working with agents and investors, here are practical steps buyers can take.

• Get a pre-approval, not just a pre-qualification. Sellers and listing agents take stronger offers seriously when financing is confirmed.
• Focus on inspection and repair credits. In softer markets sellers are more willing to negotiate on inspection repairs, concessions or closing costs.
• Use comparable sales (comps) and days-on-market data to justify offers. Evidence that a property has been listed longer than market average strengthens negotiation position.
• Consider contingent offers where appropriate. In the current environment sellers may accept offers with appraisal or financing contingencies that were once uncommon.
• Time your offer. In metros with high months of supply, offers made after 30–45 days on market often capture sellers who have already adjusted price expectations.

For cash buyers or those who can move quickly, there are additional advantages:

• Cash offers can secure price reductions as sellers trade speed for certainty.
• Investors can shop for higher cap-rate properties where rents remain stable but listing prices have softened.

However, buyers should be disciplined. A lower list price or seller concession does not automatically mean a bargain if fundamental economics of a neighborhood are weak.

What sellers and listing agents need to know

Sellers still have options, but they must be realistic about pricing and marketing. In markets with growing supply, outdated pricing or slow staging will punish sellers.

Key actions for sellers:

• Price competitively based on recent closed sales and current active supply.
• Invest in targeted marketing and professional photos to reduce days on market.
• Consider seller concessions on closing costs or agreed repairs to attract offers quickly.

Listing agents should coach sellers on the market context. In metros like Miami and Austin, where months of supply exceed typical balanced-market thresholds, unrealistic price anchors can keep a property on market and ultimately lead to larger price cuts.

For investors: read the nuance before committing

Investors chasing yield or appreciation should treat these numbers as a signal to dig deeper, not a green light to buy everywhere.

• Higher months of supply can mean better pricing and tenant choice, but it can also signal weaker demand for the location.
• Evaluate local employment trends, rent growth, and pipeline construction. A market with rising supply and stagnant job growth has more downside risk.
• In markets like Pittsburgh where the median listing price is $240,000 and months of supply are 8.6, investors might find lower entry prices but also slower rent appreciation.

We recommend a checklist for investors:

1. Confirm local job and population trends over the past 12 months.
2. Check multi-family vacancy rates and rent trajectories.
3. Assess new construction permits and months of supply for similar property types.
4. Run conservative cash-flow models using current mortgage rates and a stress scenario for vacancy and maintenance.

Risks and watch points: why this shift may not last

Markets move.