If you’ve been thinking about buying a home recently, you’ve probably felt two frustrating things: prices kept going up and there weren’t enough homes to choose from.

In many areas, both issues are easing this summer, with asking prices coming down and more homes hitting the market. Here’s what those trends look like and how they could affect your home search.

Sellers Are Pricing To Attract Buyers

According to Realtor.com, the national median asking price was $430,000 in June, which is nearly $11,000 lower than it was a year ago (see graph below).

According to the same Realtor.com report, this marks the eighth straight month that the typical asking price has been lower than it was a year earlier.

While lower prices might sound concerning at first, this isn’t a sign that the housing market is headed for a crash. These are asking prices, not the final prices homes are selling for. It simply shows that sellers are adjusting to today’s market and pricing their homes to attract buyers. And that’s a normal part of a healthy market. As Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, explains:

““Sellers are reading market conditions and are pricing accordingly from the start rather than listing high and cutting later, and buyers are taking note and making bids. This is a welcome sign that we are in a functioning market.”
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— Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com

Asking prices were never going to keep rising forever. Instead, they're settling into a range that's more in line with what buyers can actually afford. That's a sign of a healthier market and shows that sellers are adjusting their expectations.

More Homes Are Available Now

If you’ve been watching homes vanish before you can even book a tour, this is for you.

Housing supply is finally starting to catch up. In fact, Realtor.com reports that the number of homes for sale in June reached its highest level for the month in the past three years (see graph below).

That means you'll have more homes to choose from and less competition for each one.

Inventory isn't back to normal everywhere just yet. As you can see, we're still below the levels we saw from 2017 to 2019. But in many markets, there are more homes available than we've seen in quite some time. And that's good news for buyers. Here's why.

You don't have to rush into an offer just to stay in the game. Instead, you have a better chance of finding a home that's truly the right fit, not just one that's available. On top of that, you'll have more room to negotiate, which puts you in a stronger position than buyers were even a year ago.

Why This Is Encouraging if You’re Buying Your First Home

These trends are especially encouraging for first time buyers who are looking for more affordable homes. As Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist at Zillow, explains:

““The lowest price tiers are exhibiting some softness in terms of price, they also had the most listing-activity growth, the first time since 2022 that’s been the case.”
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— Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist at Zillow

If you’re looking for your first home or your next place, there are more options available and sellers are a bit more flexible on price.