Who Has the Upper Hand in Today's Housing Market?

Nearly every buyer wants to know if there is room to negotiate a better deal, and nearly every seller wants to know if they will still get top dollar. The surprising part is that both can be right at the same time. It comes down to where the home is. Today's housing market is no longer moving in one direction. Some areas clearly favor buyers, some still favor sellers, and plenty sit in between. Knowing which one describes a given market changes the entire strategy, and the expectations that come with it.

The One Number That Shows Who Has Leverage

There is a single figure that tells the story faster than anything else: the months' supply of homes for sale. It measures how long it would take to sell every home currently listed at the present pace of demand, assuming no new listings came on. The lower the number, the more leverage sellers have, because buyers are competing for a limited pool. The higher it climbs, the more room buyers gain to negotiate. As a general rule of thumb (see graph below):

Under four months of supply usually gives sellers the advantage. Four to six months puts buyers and sellers on more equal footing. More than six months generally lets buyers negotiate for a better deal. That one number frames almost everything else about a transaction.

Nationally, the Market Has Rebalanced

At the national level, the picture has shifted. According to the National Association of Realtors, months' supply now sits at 4.6, which lands the country as a whole back in balanced territory after years tilted heavily toward sellers. Redfin's city-by-city data fills in the detail, breaking the country into markets that lean toward buyers, markets that still favor sellers, and markets in the middle. Taken together, more places are leaning buyer-friendly than at any point in nearly six years (see graph below):

That national headline is real, but it is also the exact reason a buyer or seller can be misled. A balanced national average is built from markets pulling hard in opposite directions. The number that matters is the local one.

Kansas City Is Not the National Market

Here is where the local picture separates from the headline. As of August 2026, the Kansas City metro is carrying about 2.6 months of supply. Run that against the same rule of thumb and it does not land in balanced territory at all. It sits well under the four-month line, which is seller-advantage ground. Two other local figures point the same way: homes across the metro are averaging 39 days on market, and sellers are still collecting 97.7% of their original asking price on average. This is not the buyer-friendly rebalancing the national numbers describe. Kansas City remains a relatively tight, seller-leaning market.

What That Means If You Are Buying Here

In a metro with under three months of supply, the buyer strategy looks different from the national advice. Well-priced homes still move quickly, so waiting for a listing to grow stale and inviting a lowball offer is often a losing approach. Contingencies and a slow, tentative offer carry more risk when another buyer may be ready to move on the same house. That does not mean overpaying. It means understanding that leverage is limited and that a clean, well-structured offer tends to win over a bargain-hunting one in this kind of market.

It also reshapes what a buyer should expect on price. Concessions, meaning the closing-cost help and price cuts that buyers in oversupplied markets are increasingly winning, are far less common when supply is this tight. A buyer here is wise to budget as though the final number will land close to list rather than counting on the seller to cover much, and to save the negotiating energy for inspection items where there is more give.

What That Means If You Are Selling Here

A seller-leaning market is an advantage, but it is not a blank check, and the local data shows exactly why. Sellers are averaging 97.7% of their original list price, not more than 100%. That gap is small, but it is the difference between a home priced correctly and one priced on hope. Even in a market with the wind at their back, sellers who overprice still watch their homes sit and eventually cut, while those who price to the actual comparable sales tend to sell fast and near ask. Strong demand rewards discipline. It does not excuse guessing.

The Bottom Line

The national story right now is that the market has tipped toward buyers for the first time in years. The Kansas City story is different, because the local months' supply still favors sellers. The biggest mistake in either direction is assuming the national headline describes the neighborhood in question. Pricing a home, structuring an offer, and negotiating concessions all depend on the local balance of leverage, not the countrywide average. Mapping today's Kansas City numbers against a specific neighborhood and price range is exactly the kind of read Munkel Real Estate Solutions works through before a buyer writes an offer or a seller sets a price.

Sources: National Association of Realtors, Redfin, and Heartland MLS/KCRAR.