Among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, the Minneapolis, Buffalo, and Seattle housing markets had the most inventory growth in 2026.
In all three of these markets, the number of active real estate listings rose by more than 25% over the past year—well above the national average of 3.6%.
While these three housing markets remain competitive, home buyers now have more properties to evaluate and therefore a better shot at success.
The U.S. Housing Market Sputters Along
According to the latest monthly update from Realtor.com, the U.S. housing market continues to sputter along, with buyer demand and home sales hampered by higher mortgage rates.
Nationwide, pending home sales declined year-over-year for the first time since November, while the national median list price dropped 1.3% from a year earlier.
On the inventory side of things, home buyers have more properties to choose from these days. Nationwide, active real estate listings increased 3.6% over the past year.
Significant Inventory Growth in Minneapolis, Buffalo, Seattle
While the nation as a whole experienced only modest inventory growth, some metro areas have seen much larger gains that benefit buyers.
Leading the growth were Minneapolis, Buffalo, and Seattle, where active real estate listings increased by roughly 30% compared to last year.
According to the September Realtor.com report:
“Inventory rose across all four regions. The Midwest (+10.5%) and Northeast (+9.1%) posted the strongest annual growth, followed by the West (+3.2%) and South (+1.1%). Thirty-six of the 50 largest metros recorded annual inventory gains, led by Minneapolis (+32.9%), Buffalo (+29.8%) and Seattle (+27.3%).”
In the Minneapolis, Buffalo, and Seattle housing markets, buyers now have more homes to choose from with a little more negotiating leverage.
Top 10 Housing Markets for Inventory Gains
Here’s the full list of metros where active listings rose significantly:
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: +32.9%
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY: +29.8%
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: +27.3%
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN: +25.4%
- Richmond, VA: +20.9%
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN: +20.8%
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: +19.2%
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: +17.1%
- St. Louis, MO-IL: +16.6%
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: +16.1%
In all of these housing markets, buyers could have an easier time finding a suitable home within budget, especially during the fall and winter months.
1. Minneapolis: Leads the Nation for Inventory Growth
Among the largest U.S. metros, the Minneapolis real estate market leads the charge for year-over-year inventory growth.
Active property listings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metropolitan area increased by about 33% from August 2025 to August 2026.
Minneapolis is also seeing a significant increase in seller activity, with 13.3% more homes newly listed for sale in August than a year earlier. But the increase in total inventory has been much more dramatic.
As with many of the other housing markets on this list, home prices remain weak across the Minneapolis area. The median listing price for this market declined by 3.1% over the past year.
2. Buffalo: Still a Competitive Seller’s Market
With a nearly 30% increase in active real estate listings over the past year, Buffalo’s housing market has become a little more buyer-friendly.
But it’s not fully a buyer’s market.
In fact, Zillow’s heat index currently labels the Buffalo metro area as a “strong seller’s market,” where the demand for homes exceeds the available supply.
Earlier this year, Zillow also ranked Buffalo as one of the hottest housing markets in the United States, noting that “sellers held a strong advantage in negotiations.”
The Buffalo-area real estate market also has a lower percentage of price reductions by sellers, compared to most other cities across the U.S.
So overall, the local housing scene continues to favor sellers over buyers in 2026.
But buyers do have more listings available. And if inventory continues to grow, the Buffalo housing market could start shifting toward neutral territory.
3. Seattle: Inventory Rises as Prices Fall
Rounding out the top three metros for inventory growth, the Seattle-area housing market had a 27.3% increase in active listings over the past year.
And in keeping with the theme, real estate list prices in the area declined by 3.2% year over year.
Last month, 23% of Seattle-area home listings had at least one price reduction, up by 3% from a year earlier. The percentage of price reductions could rise further going forward, due to the past year’s inventory growth.
What Makes Inventory Grow?
An increase in active real estate listings doesn’t necessarily mean that a flood of new listings have suddenly come onto the market.
Active inventory can increase for several reasons, including a drop in buyer demand, homes staying on the market for longer stretches, etc.
So a housing market can experience significant inventory growth even without a dramatic increase in new listings.
Over time, this general accumulation of inventory can cause a formerly red-hot seller’s market to become slower and more balanced.
We expect this to become a common pattern across many U.S. cities during the rest of 2026 and into 2027.
What Else These 10 Markets Have in Common
The top-10 inventory growth markets listed above have very different economic and demographic dynamics.
But they also share one important trait: buyers have significantly more inventory to choose from than they did a year ago.
Price weakness is another common feature. Median list prices have declined in seven of the 10 metros in the above list. Similarly, the share of listings with a price reduction has increased in seven of those markets.
That doesn’t mean that all 10 of these metros have suddenly become buyer’s markets. Buffalo, for example, remains a strong seller’s market in 2026.
But the combination of rising inventory and increased price cuts suggests that buyers in these markets have more options and more negotiating leverage.
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