Why buyers have HISTORIC advantage right now

Mind the gap

Our fellow Brits will know that’s the word of caution you’ll hear many, many times when you ride the Underground around London.

But today, we’re giving it a new meaning: we urge you to mind the gap between the number and sellers and buyers on the market right now.

As you’ll see in our first story, we’re witnessing the largest gap between total sellers and buyers since they began tracking the stat 12 years ago.

What does this mean for clients and agents? It means buyers have a lot more options, and need to start getting their ducks in a row if they want to make a move.

That’s why in today’s Foundation Plans, we’re focusing on financing, and the keys that buyers and agents should know when buying a home.

And now, let’s all mind the gap as we hop aboard this edition of The Blueprint!

- James and David

Largest gap between sellers and buyers on record

The housing market is now seeing the largest imbalance between sellers and buyers since at least 2013, when this record started being tracked. According to Redfin, there are an estimated 1.9 million home sellers compared to just 1.5 million buyers, a gap of 490,041, or 33.7% more sellers than buyers. To put that in perspective, a year ago, the gap was just 6.5%; two years ago, buyers actually outnumbered sellers.

Here’s a breakdown of how sellers outnumber buyers by property type:

• There are 83.5% more condo sellers than buyers (259,137 to 141,223)

• There are 33.0% more townhouse sellers than buyers (195,745 to 147,192)

• There are 27.8% more single-family sellers than buyers (1,442,867 to 1,128,645)

Our take

What does this mean for listing agents? On the downside, fiercer competition for listings, but on the upside, it’s an opportunity to gobble up as many of them as you can. Pricing, marketing, and positioning matter more than ever. Sellers who still expect 2021-level demand may need a wake-up call. Use this data to set expectations early and help your clients stand out in a crowded field. Help them understand what it will take to sell their home. For buyers, this shift presents new leverage, especially in the condo and townhouse segments, where supply far outweighs demand.

Markets where sellers and buyers have the edge

Zillow has ranked the competitiveness of metro housing markets across the country. Their model scores each market based on key indicators – home price changes, inventory levels, and days on market – to determine whether it favors sellers or buyers. Higher scores equal hot markets with seller leverage, while lower scores equal cooler markets where buyers hold more negotiating power.

Among the 250 largest metros, here are the 10 strongest seller and buyer markets, according to Zillow via ResiClub:

Our take

We feel this information is both helpful and a little misrepresentative. It is helpful to see where buyers have gained leverage, as it’s clear there has been a shift toward buyers around the Gulf. But in our view, the model overstates seller strength in regions like the West Coast – ranking several cities just outside the Top 10 – even though conditions have softened over the past year. Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself, but overall, a supply-demand inventory analysis paints a picture that better corresponds to the reality we’re seeing on the ground.

Zombie foreclosures on the rise

3.3% of residential properties currently in the foreclosure process (7,329 of 222,358) are classified as “zombie” properties, according to ATTOM’s second quarter report via Realtor.com. A zombie property is vacant and in foreclosure but has not yet been repossessed by the lender. It exists in legal limbo: not fully foreclosed, nor lien-free.

While the zombie share is flat compared to Q1 2025, it’s up 0.4% from a year ago. The number of zombie foreclosures rose in 30 states and D.C., though most increases were modest.

Here are the states with the highest zombie foreclosure increases in Q2 2025:

1. North Carolina: +52.5% (from 59 to 90)

2. Iowa: +52.1% (from 71 to 108)

3. Texas: +51.9% (from 162 to 246)

4. South Carolina: +43.8% (from 64 to 92)

5. Kansas: +29% (from 69 to 89)

Our take

For buyers looking for a bargain, zombie foreclosures can offer below-market deals, but they must proceed with caution. Listings often feature eye-catching prices (sometimes as low as $1), but those figures usually reflect the opening bid in an auction. These properties are typically sold as is, with no inspections or even a chance to view the property beforehand. Still, interested buyers need to act quickly. According to ATTOM, zombie properties aren’t lingering long on the auction block because buyers are snapping up these homes quickly.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• These common misunderstandings are holding homebuyers back

• Great advice on what it takes to succeed as an agent from The Close

• How to use Google Business Profile to get more leads

• What a Fannie and Freddie IPO would mean for homebuyers

• Make sure your CRM is building, not undermining, your relationship with clients

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

As we noted up top, sellers now outnumber buyers by nearly 500K. As a result, buyers have a lot more options and leverage. To help them take advantage of the situation, and to help them close deals quickly and smoothly, we’re starting a mini-series today on financing. We’re giving some tips on what a buyer’s agent can do to help their clients.

Meet with multiple lenders – If your clients opt to buy a pre-existing home rather than a new home from a builder, then make sure they see at least 3 mortgage lenders. Encourage your clients to start their search at least 60 days before they start to seriously look for homes. From each lender, make sure your clients get a good-faith estimate. That way they can make an apples-to-apples comparison between offers. A good-faith estimate breaks down the terms of the mortgage, including the interest rate and fees.

Make sure your clients are pre-approved not just pre-qualified – Pre-qualification is just a basic overview of a borrower’s ability to get a loan. You provide a mortgage lender with information—income, assets, debts, and credit—but you don’t need to produce any paperwork to back it up. In return, you’ll get a rough estimate of what size loan your client can afford. However, it’s not a guarantee that they’ll get approved for the loan. Pre-approval, by contrast, is an in-depth process that involves a lender running a credit check and verifying income and assets. Then an underwriter does a preliminary review of your client’s financial portfolio. If all goes well, the underwriter issues a letter of pre-approval, a written commitment for financing up to a certain loan amount. Sellers typically will accept offers only from pre-approved buyers. 

Don’t change jobs or apply for new lines of credit before a purchase – If your clients do these things right before purchasing a home, that will hurt their chances with mortgage lenders. Applying for multiple lines of credit can make a mortgage lender think that your clients are desperate for money. The lender might change the mortgage terms or even deny the mortgage altogether, even if your client has a closing date on the books. Changing jobs while under contract on a property can create a big issue in the eyes of an underwriter. Mortgage lenders like to see at least two years of consistent income history when pre-approving a loan.

As we said, the best thing your clients can do is apply for new credit and/or change jobs AFTER they’ve closed on their house. 

Follow these tips and your closings should go a whole lot smoother and easier. To learn more about what you can do to help your buyers seal the deal, start here and here. 

Just in Case

Keep the latest industry data in your back pocket with today’s mortgage rates:

“Just because you are doing a lot more doesn't mean you are getting a lot done. Don't confuse movement with progress!” – Denzel Washington

Progress isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters most. Be intentional and focused in what you choose to do, friends. That’s how you build the business and life you want. Use this weekend to rest, recharge, and get ready for the week ahead. The summer season is in full swing now!

- James and David