The housing market moved closer to even footing in the second quarter, with 44% of agents saying conditions were balanced, up from 30% in the third quarter of last year. That is a clear sign that buyers and sellers are no longer fighting in the same one-sided market they faced through much of the past several years.
The shift matters now because it is showing up in the numbers buyers and sellers watch most closely. Home sales rose 3% in May from a year earlier, asking prices fell 2.5% in June from a year earlier, and that was the largest decline since tracking began. More inventory and slower price growth are giving buyers a little more room, even if the market still does not feel easy.
For many households, the problem is that balance is not the same as affordability. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has stayed around 6.6%, and about 1.1 million homes are for sale, which is more supply than before but still not enough to make the market clearly buyer-friendly on a broad basis. Prices are easing, yet monthly payments remain high enough to keep many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
That is why the mood among agents has not turned fully optimistic. Only 19% now expect sales to improve, down sharply from 48% last year, a drop that reflects how cautious the market remains even as sellers adjust pricing and fewer deals collapse over contract terms. In other words, the market is improving, but it is doing so from a place of long-standing seller control, not from a position of plenty.
If inventory keeps building and rates stay near current levels, the market can keep drifting toward balance, but not quickly enough to erase the pressure on buyers. That leaves the next move in sales, prices or mortgage rates to decide whether this is a real turning point or just a pause in a still-tight housing market.
