The Strongest Buyer's Market on Record Is a FSBO Seller's Moment

Let me give you one number to chew on today: 57.9%. That's how many more home sellers than buyers were active in the US this August, according to Redfin. Not 10%. Not 20%. Nearly three sellers for every two buyers. It's the biggest imbalance Redfin has measured in data going back to 2013, and it's the second straight month of records. This is officially the strongest buyer's market on record.

Here are the raw numbers. Roughly 1.53 million sellers were active in August, the most since early 2020. Buyers sat at about 972,000, near the lowest count Redfin has ever recorded. The gap is more than 560,000 people. Thirty-six of the 49 major metros Redfin tracks now qualify as buyer's markets, and in Sun Belt cities like Nashville, Miami and Houston, sellers outnumber buyers by more than two to one. Only five metros in the whole country are still seller's markets.

So what's driving it? Rates are one reason. Freddie Mac had the 30-year fixed at 7.40% for the week ending October 8, up a full point from a year earlier and the highest since November 2023. Households are stretched too. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, released October 9, found nearly one in five American families was late on a loan or mortgage payment in the past year. In 2022 that number was 12%.

But here's the part that matters if you're selling. 21.1% of listings had a price cut in the four weeks through September 20. That's a seasonal high since Redfin started tracking price cuts in 2022. Sellers are adjusting. They're negotiating. They're trying to meet a smaller pool of buyers who know exactly how much leverage they have.

Now here's my take, and I know it goes against the conventional wisdom. People will tell you a buyer's market is the worst time to sell FSBO, that you need an agent more than ever when competition is fierce. I think that's backwards. When buyers are scarce and choosy, the commission hurts more, not less. On a $400,000 sale, 6% in commissions is $24,000 gone before the first offer lands. That's $24,000 you can't use to sharpen your price, offer a closing-cost credit, or cover the repairs the buyer's inspector is going to ask for.

And the buyer's inspector will ask for repairs. Redfin's own economist says buyers can afford to be choosy, and they should negotiate hard. When one in five of your competitors has already cut their price, the seller who keeps 100% of the sale price has room to move. The seller who gave 6% away up front doesn't.

FSBO gives you something else this market rewards: direct contact with the buyer. Nobody knows your home like you do. When a buyer asks why the kitchen got remodeled or what the street is really like, you're the one answering, not a middleman relaying it third-hand. In a market where buyers are being careful, that directness closes deals.

I'm not going to pretend this market is easy for sellers. It's not. It's the toughest seller's market on record, and the data says so plainly. But the math has never favored paying for help you don't need. If you can price it right, photograph it well, and talk to buyers straight, you can sell in this market, and keep the commission in your pocket while you do.

Sources: Redfin's August 2026 Buyers vs. Sellers report (reported via Stessa); Freddie Mac 30-year fixed at 7.40% for the week ending October 8 (via BeInsure); Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, released October 9, 2026.