If you've been trying to figure out whether this is a buyer's market or a seller's market, the honest answer is it depends on the zip code, and the type of home. Zillow just released a tool that puts a number on it.

Zillow's Market Heat Index pulls together price changes, inventory, and days on market into a single score:

Nationally, the U.S. came in at 55 this spring. Just barely a seller's market.

The 20 hottest markets in the country are concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest, and a few coastal California metros:

The 20 coldest are mostly along the Gulf Coast and parts of Texas and Florida:

None of Utah's metros made the hottest 20 or the coldest 20 out of 250+ markets nationally. We're sitting in the middle ground.

That tracks with what I'm seeing on the ground every week. Inventory has come up, days on market have stretched, and homes that are priced and presented well are still moving. ResiClub also points out that the new construction activity across the Mountain West has nudged some markets softer, which is why builder incentives are so aggressive right now.

For comparison, here's what this same map looked like in spring 2021. Almost the entire country was glowing red. Today the colors are split, and Utah is in a much more balanced place.

A balanced market is the best market for negotiating. You get time to think. You can ask for concessions. You can structure a smart offer without a bidding war breathing down your neck.

The other thing most buyers miss: the rate you see online is often not the rate my clients actually get. Between builder forward commitments and seller-paid buydowns on resale homes, the effective rate at closing is frequently well below the published number. If you've been waiting for the market to "make sense," it often times already does. You just need someone who knows where the real deals are and how to negotiate.

A balanced market doesn't mean homes don't sell. In fact, an average of 900+ homes sold every single week in Utah last month, and we’re just now approaching the most active time of the year, which means strategy matters more than ever.

Pricing too high, weak photos, no story, and a saturated micro-market are the usual reasons a home sits and eventually fails to sell. When sellers come to me after a failed listing, the home itself is almost never the problem. Pricing strategy, presentation, and how it's positioned against the local competition (including new construction) is almost always the fix.

The country isn't one market. It's hundreds of them. Utah lands in a healthier, more balanced spot than most of the headlines would suggest. That's good news for both sides of the table. Buyers get room to negotiate. Sellers get a market that still rewards good strategy.

If you've been waiting for a clear signal, this is one.

Here to serve,

P.S. Want to know where your home or neighborhood actually lands on this scale? Reply with your address (or the address you're thinking about buying) and I'll send you a free, no-pressure breakdown of what your specific market looks like right now. Real numbers, no obligation.