The spring 2026 housing market is not the chaotic seller’s market of recent memory. It’s something more complicated: a market where buyers have more leverage than they’ve had in years, yet deals are falling apart more often, real estate fraud is accelerating and half of would-be sellers are still frozen in place by low-rate mortgages they don’t want to give up.
In a word: weird.
That’s the picture painted by HomeLight’s latest Top Agent Insights report, which surveyed 950 top-performing real estate agents nationwide between April 7 and 14.
The findings reveal a market defined by fragmentation. Some homes sell in days, others languish for months; some regions favor sellers, most favor buyers; and the gap between well-prepared listings and poorly prepared ones is widening fast.
Monthly payment is now the dominant decision driver
Ask agents what buyers care most about, and the answer is nearly unanimous: the monthly payment. Sixty-one percent of surveyed agents say affordability of the monthly payment is the top factor buyers consider today. This far outpaces move-in condition, school quality, commute or neighborhood safety.
“In this market, the home that wins is not always the most beautiful — it is the one that makes the most financial sense,” said Kent Rodahaver, a top agent with NextHome serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
The shift reflects how thoroughly higher interest rates, insurance costs and property taxes have recalibrated buyer psychology. Buyers are underwriting their purchase the way a lender would, running the full carrying cost before falling in love with a floor plan.
That calculus is driving notable behavioral changes.
According to agent responses, millennial and Gen Z buyers are adapting in three primary ways: 29 percent are delaying purchases and continuing to rent; 25 percent are moving farther from city centers; and 15 percent are leaning on family for down payment help. In the Pacific region, that last figure climbs to 45 percent, three times the national average.
Multigenerational living is also gaining traction. Sixty percent of agents report increased demand for homes that can accommodate multiple generations under one roof, such as adult children and aging parents living together. In the Pacific and Mountain regions, that number climbs to 75 percent and 68 percent, respectively.
More deals are dying before closing
One of the report’s more striking data points: Agents say 9 percent of pending home sales have fallen through so far this year, up from the 5 percent reported by the National Association of Realtors. That gap may seem small, but it represents a meaningful increase in transaction uncertainty across the board.
Inspection issues are the primary culprit. Foundation and structural problems, roof damage, and mold or moisture issues are the most common deal-breakers. These are all high-cost repairs that buyers with stretched budgets are increasingly unwilling to absorb.
Contingencies are amplifying the problem. The home inspection contingency is the most likely to derail a deal, cited by 41 percent of agents, followed closely by the home sale contingency at 38 percent.
“We are seeing a lot more sellers unwilling to make any repairs or concessions, yet repairs are becoming more costly, so buyers are less willing to take them on,” said Carly Sablotny, a leading agent with Keller Williams Living in Cleveland. “Insurance is becoming more difficult with guidelines and inspections more stringent.”
To keep transactions alive, sellers are leaning on concessions. The most common: covering the buyer’s agent commission, cited by 57 percent of agents. Many sellers are stacking concessions — combining commission coverage, closing cost help and repair credits — to preserve deals that might otherwise collapse.
Real estate fraud is getting more sophisticated
Beyond the usual transaction friction, agents are sounding alarms about a sharper threat: 63 percent report an increase in scams, many of which are becoming harder to spot thanks to AI-generated impersonation and increasingly sophisticated communications.
The five most common scams agents are seeing, according to the report:
Seller impersonation. Scammers use fake IDs or stolen public records to pose as property owners and list homes they don’t own, particularly targeting vacant land and unencumbered properties. “Scammers are now using AI to mimic property owners and professionals,” said Matthew Gibbs, a top agent in Middletown, New York.
Wire fraud. Cybercriminals compromise email threads involving agents, title companies, or lenders, then insert fake wire instructions at the most vulnerable moment in the transaction: right before closing. “It looks legit — same logos, similar email, correct names — but it’s not them. And once that money is wired, it’s gone,” said Jennifer Hupke, a top REMAX Forward agent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Fake rental listings. Scammers pull photos from active or past listings and re-advertise the property as a rental, collecting deposits from out-of-area tenants who show up on move-in day to find the home occupied or unavailable.
Fake Zoom and Google Meet links. Fraudsters posing as buyers or sellers push listing agents — and sometimes homesellers — to click malicious video call links designed to install malware or steal credentials.
Deed and title fraud. Forged signatures or fabricated IDs are used to fraudulently transfer ownership of properties — typically vacant land, rentals or vacation homes — enabling scammers to sell them and walk off with the proceeds. The true owner and the unsuspecting buyer are both left as victims.
The common thread, according to San Antonio agent Amanda Stanford, who has 30 years of experience: “Every scam leans on urgency, emotion or confusion. Most people don’t lose money because they’re careless. They lose money because the scam looks exactly like a normal transaction at the exact moment they’re least likely to question it.”
Her advice: “Trust the process, not the message. Slow down and verify everything by phone with partners you or your agent trust.”
Buyers have the advantage — except where they don’t
At the national level, 41 percent of agents say buyers currently hold more bargaining power. That marks a clear shift from the seller-dominated market of recent years, with fewer agents today reporting a seller’s edge.
Two regional exceptions stand out: the Midwest and Northeast, where sellers continue to hold more negotiating leverage. That advantage has softened slightly in the Midwest over the past year, while remaining relatively strong in the Northeast.
The overall shift toward buyer leverage is visible in the data on days on market and price reductions. Agents report properties are spending an average of 54 days on market, up from 51 days during the same period in 2025 and 45 days in 2024, per the National Association of Realtors. And 82 percent of agents say at least some of their listings have seen price cuts in the past 90 days.
That said, the market is fragmenting. Move-in-ready homes are still winning quickly, with 84 percent of agents saying turnkey features — fresh paint, updated kitchens and bathrooms — are helping homes sell. The gap between well-prepared homes and those that fall short on pricing or condition is widening, creating a two-speed market that can be disorienting for both buyers and sellers expecting uniform conditions.
Inventory is rising, but unevenly
Fifty-five percent of agents report rising inventory in their markets, though that’s actually fewer than reported increases a year ago, and more agents are now seeing inventory declines in their areas. The national picture masks significant regional variation.
Homes are selling much faster in the Midwest and Northeast. In the South and Mountain regions, selling timelines are significantly longer. One report cited Austin homes sitting on the market for an average of 108 days in February.
The lock-in effect remains the dominant force suppressing supply. Agents estimate 49 percent of homeowners who want to move are actively delaying their sale to avoid giving up a lower mortgage rate. High prices and economic uncertainty are secondary factors.
Yet life does intervene. When sellers do list, the top reason cited by 44 percent of agents is relocating for lifestyle reasons: family, climate, or cost of living. Nationally, downsizing follows, then upsizing and financial need, though the order shifts by region. The data suggest that most sellers today are moving out of necessity rather than for market timing.
When they sell, most use their equity to lower their monthly costs for their next home. Forty-seven percent are putting proceeds toward a larger down payment on their next home; 19 percent are buying their next home with cash; and 15 percent are downsizing and keeping the remaining proceeds.
What agents expect for the rest of 2026
Agents are largely split on prices but lean toward stability. Forty-four percent expect prices to hold steady for the remainder of the year, 37 percent expect prices to rise at a moderate pace, and 18 percent expect prices to fall. The Midwest and Northeast skew toward price growth, while the Mountain and Pacific regions skew toward flat.
Perhaps the most interesting forward-looking finding is that agents warn that even minor rate movements could quickly bring buyers off the sidelines. Pent-up demand means any meaningful rate drop could trigger sudden competition, multiple offers, and faster sales, even after an extended period of slow sales.
“If rates ease even slightly, buyers will flood back in, competition will spike and sellers who waited too long may realize they missed the window to stand out,” said Daniel Padilla, a top agent in Colorado Springs.
For sellers, the strategic implication is clear.
“Today’s sellers don’t win by aiming high; they win by being right,” said Los Angeles agent Anthony Guetzoian. “Price it right, present it right and you control the outcome. Miss that window, and the market controls you.”
Read the full report: