The Housing Market Is Moving in Favor of Buyers, but 3 Southern Cities Are Bucking the Trend

While the national housing market continues to gradually move toward more buyer-friendly conditions this summer, three Southern metros are surprisingly bucking this trend. Augusta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Jacksonville, FL—all previously classified as buyer's markets in the Realtor.com® 2026 Q2 Market Clock report—have since shifted into balanced territory, according to an August data release."This means they've tightened ever so slightly, moving counterclockwise and a bit less buyer-friendly than before," explains Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel. First introduced in April, the Market Clock diagnostic tool tracks market conditions in 100 of the nation's largest metros based on key metrics such as months of supply, time on the market, price fluctuations, and list-to-sale ratio.The 100 metros are placed on a 12-hour clockface from a peak seller's market at 12 o’clock to a peak buyer’s market at 6 o’clock to indicate where each market currently stands and where it is likely headed—loosening or tightening. The clock and the accompanying quarterly reports offer consumers a snapshot of how their local housing market is doing compared to regional and national trends. A balanced n...