While homeownership still feels out of reach for many of us, the market is starting to get more buyer-friendly. Mortgage rates are still high, but dampened demand means there are finally more sellers than buyers. And that’s keeping a lid on property prices.

The thing is, that’s the national trend. When you look closer, it’s not the same around the country.

Take this stat: Nationally, 20.7% of home listings had a price drop in June — the most for any June since at least 2016, according to Realtor.com. But in the Northeast, just 13% of listing prices fell, and in the Western and Southern U.S., it was 23%.

Why is it so uneven? Because even though the low mortgage rates of the pandemic buying boom are long gone, the housing market is still recovering from a depleted inventory of homes for sale. Depending on where you live, things have bounced back a lot faster.

More homes on the market typically equals lower prices. And we see that in the West. There are already more listings in the West than before the pandemic, and the median price there was 0.8% lower in June than a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale in the Northeast has yet to recover — as of May, it was still down 51.4% from pre-pandemic norms — and the median list price in June was 1.8% higher than a year earlier.

A few other useful figures from June:

•  The national median list price was $440,950, up just 0.2% from last year.

•  Median list prices fell 0.9% in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South.

•  When looking at price per square foot, the Northeast saw a 4% gain, the Midwest, a 1.3% increase, and the West, a 0.4% uptick. Only the South saw a decline.

•  Price changes varied by major metro areas, too: For example, while prices in Baltimore rose 7%, they were down 6.3% in Cincinnati and 4.7% in Miami.

So what? It’s expensive to buy a home right now, but the housing market is shifting. If you’re an aspiring buyer, it’s turning in your favor — in some regions more quickly than others. Regardless of where you live, here are some tips to get the best deals:

Keep browsing. Keep a close eye on list prices. Scroll Zillow or Realtor.com like it’s your job, and you might identify trends before the data even comes out.

And don’t just look at city-wide data — get down to zip codes. Explore price trends by neighborhood and see how long homes are sitting on the market. Even in the Northeast or Midwest, you might find pockets where sellers are more motivated.

Cast a wider net. Moving isn’t feasible for everyone, but buyers who are able to relocate to less competitive markets stand to gain. In the West and South, homes are staying on the market for about a week longer than they were a year ago. That gives buyers more leverage to negotiate.

Ask for other concessions: If you find your dream home and can’t get anywhere on price, consider asking the seller to cover closing costs, pay for repairs, or even pay for you to have a lower mortgage rate. (Yes, that’s a thing.) Once a seller has received an offer, they may be willing to make other concessions in order to close the deal.

If you are selling, be realistic about the price. Asking for too much can backfire. If your listing gets “stale” by sitting on the market for too long, it can be a red flag for buyers. Keep an eye on how the market’s doing in your area using local comps.

Related Reading

The Housing Markets Where Homes Are Selling Below the Asking Price (Realtor.com)

When Are Home Prices Going to Fall — and How Far? (Bankrate)

Mortgage Rates Might Not Go Down. What Now? (SoFi)

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