According to a new report, the Sun Belt region is currently home to some of the strongest buyer’s markets in the United States.
This is based on a recent analysis conducted by Redfin, which examined current housing market dynamics for the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas.
- All 10 of the nation’s strongest buyer’s markets are in the Sun Belt, according to Redfin’s August 2026 analysis of major U.S. metros.
- Nashville leads the nation with 139% more sellers than buyers. That’s the largest buyer-seller imbalance since Redfin began tracking it in 2013.
- Sellers outnumber buyers two to one in the strongest buyer’s markets of Miami, Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.
- Texas and Florida dominate the list, with seven of the 10 strongest buyer’s markets located in those two states.
- The imbalance is growing in some metros. The “seller surplus” is increasing in some Sun Belt housing markets, like Orlando and Las Vegas.
- All of this gives buyers more leverage. Most of the Sun Belt markets have growing inventory but weak demand, which gives buyers an edge.
Sun Belt Has the Strongest Buyer’s Markets
Redfin analyzed current housing market conditions in the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, with an emphasis on supply and demand-related factors.
The company used both proprietary data to conduct this analysis, along with real estate listing data from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
The big takeaway: the strongest buyer’s markets in America are concentrated entirely in the Sun Belt.
Of the metro-level housing markets Redfin analyzed, nearly three-quarters of them (36) were buyer’s markets. The strongest were located in the Sun Belt.
Definition: Redfin defines a buyer’s market as one where there are more than 10% more sellers than buyers.
Nashville, Miami, Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas
In housing markets like Nashville, Miami, Houston, and Orlando, home sellers are estimated to outnumber buyers by more than two to one.
Here are 10 of the strongest buyer’s markets that remain “seller heavy” in 2026:
| Rank | Metro | Sellers Outnumber Buyers By: |
| 1 | Nashville | 139% |
| 2 | Miami | 138% |
| 3 | Houston | 131% |
| 4 | Orlando | 122% |
| 5 | Las Vegas | 117% |
| 6 | San Antonio | 116% |
| 7 | Austin | 115% |
| 8 | Dallas | 108% |
| 9 | Atlanta | 96% |
| 10 | Phoenix | 95% |
In that kind of lopsided market, sellers often have to price their homes more competitively and be willing to negotiate if they want to land a buyer.
So it’s no surprise that many of these strong buyer’s markets also have a relatively high percentage of seller price reductions.
Median home prices have declined in most of these markets, as well.
Nashville Ranked as America’s Top Buyer’s Market in 2026
Among the 50 metros analyzed in this report, the Nashville area was ranked as the most buyer-friendly real estate market in America.
Last month, Nashville was estimated to have 139% more sellers than buyers in the market. That means active sellers outnumbered buyers by well over two to one.
That was the largest seller/buyer gap in Redfin’s records dating back to 2013.
The Nashville housing market has also gained inventory. From July to August, for example, the number of active real estate listings in the area increased by 4.1%.
Nashville’s buyer-friendly ranking is partly due to a strong construction pipeline that’s bringing new homes onto the market as demand cools.
Unique Housing Dynamics in the Sun Belt
The Sun Belt’s buyer-friendly conditions might look surprising for a region that’s supposed to be booming. But that boom is exactly what set the stage.
Sun Belt states have experienced some of the country’s fastest population growth in recent years.
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas were all among the nation’s fastest-growing states between mid-2024 and mid-2025, according to Census Bureau estimates.
That growth story is exactly why builders kept adding new homes even as short-term demand cooled, and why many real estate investors are still betting on these markets for the long haul.
Why These Markets Are So Buyer-Friendly
In 2026, a lot of housing markets across the Sun Belt have a combination of:
- Plenty of active real estate listings for buyers to choose from
- A lot of home-building activity that further increases inventory
- Relatively weak demand from home buyers
This combination is giving home buyers more negotiating leverage than buyers located in other parts of the country.
1. There’s a lot of new construction.
Unlike their more constrained urban counterparts, many housing markets across the Sun Belt still have land available for new home construction.
And the construction pipeline has accelerated over the past six years or so.
For example, Redfin specifically mentioned Nashville, Texas, and Florida as having some of the country’s most active home-building pipelines.
And in many of these markets, new homes are becoming available even as buyer demand cools due to stubbornly elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty.
This gives buyers more choices and more negotiating power.
2. Some buyers are getting priced out.
In many of the Sun Belt housing markets, local home buyers are getting squeezed out by higher housing costs.
And it’s not just home prices either. Mortgage rates continue to hover near 7%, and home insurance costs have skyrocketed in some of these markets.
The buyer-friendly Miami housing market presents an extreme example of this. In South Florida, rising insurance costs, steep HOA fees, and climate risk have reduced demand.
3. Supply is growing faster than demand.
Supply and demand are the two main forces that determine whether a particular housing market favors buyers or sellers.
And across the Sun Belt, many cities have experienced a rise in inventory at a time when buyer demand remains roughly the same.
Nashville, the strongest buyer’s market in this study, provides a good example of this. Active real estate listings rose 4.1% month over month, while demand declined slightly.
The bottom line: The Sun Belt may offer today’s home buyers something that has become increasingly rare: choice and bargaining power.
