Are you thinking of selling your home, but unsure about the state of the housing market?
The housing supply is tight. What does this mean for you as a hopeful home seller? Find out what supply and demand are doing in this unique real estate market, and how you should react.
The U.S. housing market has seen a meaningful improvement in inventory compared with the historically tight conditions of years past.
According to Zillow, approximately 1.39 million homes were for sale nationwide in summer 2026, with active inventory up about 0.9% year over year. New listings reached approximately 404,000, up 3% from a year earlier.
While inventory has improved, the market is not uniformly oversupplied. Homes took a median of 20 days to go pending, and about 25.8% of listings received price cuts, indicating that buyers have more negotiating power than during the pandemic-era seller’s market.
Overall, the 2026 market is more balanced between buyers and sellers. Home prices continue to rise modestly, while higher mortgage rates and increased inventory have tempered demand.
While demand may be high, there are many factors affecting the perceived lack of homes on the market, and they can affect your ability to sell your home.
With adults waiting later and later to start families, and having fewer children, the demand for specific types of single family housing is shifting. However, there is also a rising practice of home sharing especially among younger generations.
Lack of materials has stalled many new builds in their tracks, and getting the industry back up to speed takes time. This can reduce the number of new homes available on the market, and slow older homes going up for sale.
As more and more homes get snapped up by domestic or international real estate investors for use on the long-term or short-term rental market, fewer are left to be bought and sold directly. This causes housing shortages and raises home rental rates.
Home prices remain elevated, but the U.S. housing market has become more balanced as inventory has increased and price appreciation has slowed.
While some supply-constrained markets remain favorable to sellers, buyers in many parts of the country now have more choices and greater negotiating power than they did during the pandemic-era housing boom.
Homeowners who have owned their properties for several years may have accumulated substantial equity, even if they still have many years remaining on their mortgage. A new appraisal may reveal that the property is worth considerably more than when it was purchased, potentially providing additional flexibility when considering a sale.
However, the housing market has changed significantly from the pandemic-era boom. Buyer demand remains, but higher mortgage rates and affordability challenges have reduced purchasing power, while increased inventory has given buyers more choices and negotiating leverage. Bidding wars still occur in desirable, supply-constrained markets, but they are no longer typical across the country.
Mortgage rates also remain well above the historic lows seen in 2020 and 2021. As a result, homeowners considering upsizing or downsizing should carefully compare the potential benefits of selling with the cost of financing their next home.
Selling may also involve significant preparation costs. If a property requires major repairs or renovations, today’s higher labor and material costs can reduce the financial benefit of selling. Ultimately, the decision to sell should consider current home value, accumulated equity, mortgage rates, transaction costs, and the homeowner’s long-term housing needs.
If you have the chance to sell your home in a tight housing supply, here’s how to maximize your profits:
First, minimize how much you spend to get your house “market ready.” Drop some money on new paint and landscaping for maximum curb appeal and a good first impression, throw a pan of cookies in the oven, and pop a vase of fresh flowers on the mantle.
It’s your market, and you don’t have to go to extreme lengths to renovate in preparation for a home sale.
Second, if you get a glut of offers, consider tossing out the ones with contingencies attached first. This leaves you with serious buyers who won’t walk away if their own home is slow to sell or a home inspection turns up a bad floorboard or two.
Third, consider asking for an appraisal gap guarantee, so a prospective buyer agrees to pay a certain amount between the appraisal and market price. This helps ensure your window shoppers have the cash to plunk down if the numbers don’t match up perfectly (common in a seller’s market.)
Finally, a word on being a buyer in a sellers market: if you’re planning on selling your home and buying a new one almost simultaneously, you should be aware that other sellers are in the same position.
Your potential buyers are your own competition when housing supply is tight. Get pre-approved to gain an edge over your competition, and be prepared to pay a premium for the home you really want.
Pro Tip: Consider Sammamish Mortgage’s Buy Before You Sell Program, which helps borrowers purchase their next primary residence without including their current mortgage payment in their debt-to-income ratio. This program can strengthen offers by allowing buyers to move forward without selling, renting, or placing their existing home under contract first.
At Sammamish Mortgage, we’ll you get the right loan, not just the biggest one. With our help, you can make the home buying process as streamlined as possible.
Sammamish Mortgage has been in business since 1992, and has assisted many homebuyers in the Pacific Northwest. If you are looking for mortgage financing in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, or California, we can help you get pre-approved for one of our many mortgage programs.
Contact us if you have any mortgage-related questions or concerns. If you are ready to move forward, you can view rates, obtain a customized instant rate quote, or apply instantly directly from our website.
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