Will the 2026 Housing Market Be Better for Buyers or Sellers? Here’s What Real Estate Agents Predict

The 2025 housing market saw its ups and downs.

Mortgage rates fluctuated, inventory increased in some areas, and both buyers and sellers had to adjust their expectations. There will still be some uncertainty as we enter the 2026 housing market, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities.

For a better understanding of what’s coming next, real estate agents share their take on whether the 2026 housing market will favor buyers or sellers.

2026 Housing Market Outlook

According to Alex Vidal, president of ERA Real Estate, things may be much more localized than they were before.

“We are entering a new real estate market where prices, inventory and sales levels are back to being highly localized. During the pandemic, and soon after, we were able to make broad-brush statements about dwindling supply, booming buyer interest and increased prices,” Vidal explained. “That is no longer true. In some parts of the nation, prices continue to rise — although at a slower pace.”

Citing data from the National Association of Realtors, Vidal pointed out that home prices have risen in all four regions, but claimed that specific markets are different.

“In many markets where home values have decreased, dramatic increases in home insurance premiums have been a contributing factor — think areas affected by hurricanes, flooding, wind and fire,” Vidal added.

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Declining home values can also be attributed to rising inventory in new home development.

“With ample inventory, competition for homes is less and fewer bidding wars are keeping prices from dramatically increasing,” he explained.

The general hope is that lower mortgage rates will encourage more sellers to list their homes so they can make their next move.

“Most communities have not seen such a balanced market in several years,” Vidal said. “But we also should expect home prices to have slight variation in appreciation levels next year, depending on the market.”

2026 Housing Market Predictions for Buyers

“In 2026, the housing market is expected to be more favorable for buyers,” Neil Brooks, a realtor with more than 25 years of experience and president of the NewDay USA Admiral Agent Division, wrote in an email. “This shift is primarily due to the anticipated easing of mortgage rates, which will make it easier for buyers to secure loans.”

According to Brooks, buyers may hold more negotiating power in terms of concessions, such as closing-cost contributions, home warranties and interest-rate buy-downs.

Sain Rhodes, a real estate expert at Clever Offers, also sees a more buyer-friendly year ahead, and buyers have real alternatives for the first time in almost a decade. According to Rhodes, the number of homes available for sale has increased by 15% since last year, and interest rates are stabilizing at 6-7%.

“The current buyers I am working with are seeing sellers who are willing to negotiate the price, terms and timelines,” Rhodes claimed. “One of my clients negotiated $12,000 in seller concessions on closing costs; that’s unheard of in the 2023 market.”

2026 Housing Market Predictions for Sellers

“Sellers may still benefit from market conditions, but they may need to be more flexible with their asking prices and terms in order to close deals, as buyers will have more options and bargaining leverage,” Brooks explained.

Rhodes has told her seller clients that homes priced 5% to 10% above market value won’t sell in 2026.

“The ‘List it high and see what sticks’ approach will not work in the market. I just sold a house in a geographic area at real market value, and the sellers did not stretch the list price as we used to,” Rhodes explained. “Although it took longer to sell, it closed without major appraisal issues that would have killed the deal, thanks to a buyer contingency.”

Vidal also pointed out that, whatever the market drivers are pushing prices lower, sellers are often the last to accept these changes, often pricing homes based on last year’s market rather than current demand. He also explained that many longtime homeowners who have seen huge amounts of appreciation may need to give back a portion of those gains.

According to Rhodes, the homes that will sell in 2026 will be move-in ready.

“I sold a home with a seller who spent $8,000 on staging and minor cosmetic updates. The house sold, and their investment was returned [five times] due to a faster sale and a higher sale price,” Rhodes stated. “A seller down the street who sold an identical home in ‘as is’ condition, which we all know was just a nice way of saying a dump, also lost $20,000 in their price to sell.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Will the 2026 Housing Market Be Better for Buyers or Sellers? Here’s What Real Estate Agents Predict