Buyer’s or seller’s market: Zillow’s analysis for over 250 housing markets

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Zillow economists have an economic model called the Zillow Market Heat Index, designed to assess the competitiveness of housing markets nationwide. This model evaluates factors like home price fluctuations, inventory levels, days on market, and buyer demand to produce a score that indicates whether a market is hot (benefiting sellers) or cool (benefiting buyers).

A higher score indicates a hotter metro-level housing market where sellers have more power. A lower score indicates a colder metro-level housing market where buyers have more power.

According to Zillow, a score of 70 or above indicates a “strong sellers market,” and a score from 55 to 69 is a “sellers market.” A score from 44 to 55 would be a “neutral market.” Finally, a score from 28 to 44 indicates a “buyers market,” while 27 or below is a “strong buyers market.”

Nationally, Zillow rates the U.S. housing market at 54 in its February 2025 reading, published in March 2025, which suggests a “neutral market.”

Among the 250 largest metro area housing markets, these are the 10 hottest markets, where sellers have the most power:

1. Rochester, NY: 169
2. Buffalo, NY: 113
3. San Jose, CA: 112
4. San Francisco, CA: 105
5. Syracuse, NY: 99
6. Hartford, CT: 95
7. Ann Arbor, MI: 90
8. Boston, MA: 89
9. Bridgeport, CT: 89
10. Seattle, WA: 86

And these are the 10 coldest markets, where buyers have the most power:

1. Jackson, TN: 9
2. Gulfport, MS: 18
3. Macon, GA: 23
4. Daphne, AL: 25
5. Brownsville, TX: 26
6. Beaumont, TX: 26
7. Longview, TX: 26
8. Naples, FL: 28
9. Punta Gorda, FL: 30
10. Panama City, FL: 30

Directionally, I believe Zillow has correctly identified many regional housing markets where buyers have gained the most power—particularly around the Gulf—as well as markets where sellers have maintained (relatively speaking) somewhat of a grip, including large portions of the Northeast and Midwest.

Based on my personal housing analysis, I consider Southwest Florida the weakest/softest chunk of the U.S. housing market, followed by Texas markets around Austin and San Antonio.

What did this Zillow analysis look like back in spring 2022 at the climax of the pandemic housing boom? Below is Zillow’s February 2022 reading—published in March 2022.

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