US Buyer's Markets for Real Estate Investors in 2026
Where sale-to-list ratios are below 1.0 and the majority of homes are closing below asking — investor leverage at the negotiation table.
DATA · ZILLOW REGIONAL ROLLUPS · 12 CITIES
- 01Naples, FL88% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.952100/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $549kYoY -5.5%RENT $2,715/moYIELD 5.93%
- 02Fort Lauderdale, FL86% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.95299/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $510kYoY -4.4%RENT $2,737/moYIELD 6.44%
- 03Fort Myers, FL87% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.95798/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $312kYoY -9.4%RENT $1,756/moYIELD 6.74%
- 04West Palm Beach, FL79% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96194/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $400kYoY -2.3%RENT $2,327/moYIELD 6.99%
- 05Miami, FL80% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96393/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $581kYoY -1.6%RENT $3,012/moYIELD 6.22%
- 06Jackson, MS74% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.95892/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $88kYoY -0.7%RENT $1,255/moYIELD 17.10%
- 07Charleston, SC78% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96990/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $594kYoY +0.6%RENT $2,186/moYIELD 4.42%
- 08Gainesville, FL77% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96890/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $300kYoY -2.1%RENT $1,634/moYIELD 6.54%
- 09New Orleans, LA74% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96989/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $246kYoY -2.7%RENT $1,675/moYIELD 8.17%
- 10McAllen, TX73% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.96889/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $229kYoY +0.6%RENT $1,304/moYIELD 6.83%
- 11Greenville, SC74% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.97687/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $329kYoY +2.4%RENT $1,530/moYIELD 5.58%
- 12Austin, TX72% of sales below list, sale-to-list 0.97586/100BUYER LEVERAGE SCOREMEDIAN $511kYoY -5.7%RENT $1,567/moYIELD 3.68%
How the ranking is computed.
Score = base 50 + (% sold below list × 40) + ((1 − sale-to-list) × 300). The two signals capture both breadth (how many transactions are negotiated) and depth (how big the discount is) of buyer leverage.
Frequently asked.
What's the difference between buyer market and wholesale market?
Heavy overlap, but not identical. Buyer market = sellers negotiating on listed inventory. Wholesale market = sellers negotiating PLUS time to source (DOM matters more). Many buyer markets are also wholesale markets but not all.
Are buyer markets always good for investors?
Generally yes for cash buyers and those with off-market sourcing. Less useful for traditional financed buyers because lender appraisals lag the market — you may negotiate a great price but struggle to finance it as low comps continue dropping.
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