Morningstar: Is It a Buyer's or Seller's Market?

Is a market with nearly seven months of inventory favorable for buyers or sellers? In Morningstar, the answer depends on how you measure supply against demand. ALEX Intelligence calculated the Months of Inventory by dividing the current active listings by the average monthly closings over the trailing period. With 39 homes currently active and 34 closed sales over six months, the result is 6.88 months of inventory. This figure represents the time it would take to sell all current listings at the current sales pace if no new homes were added. In real estate analysis, a market is typically considered balanced between 4 and 6 months. A figure below 4 suggests a seller's market with high demand and low supply, while a figure above 6 indicates a buyer's market where inventory exceeds demand. At 6.88 months, Morningstar sits just beyond the threshold for a balanced market, giving buyers more selection and negotiation leverage than in previous periods. This shift is reflected in other metrics. The median days on market dropped significantly to 38 days compared to 99 days in the prior period, yet the inventory level remains high enough to prevent bidding wars from dominating. Buyers can expect a wider range of choices without the pressure of immediate competition, while sellers may need to price competitively to move their properties within this expanded supply landscape. The data covers 34 closed sales across the rolling six-month window ending September 30, 2026. This sample size meets the minimum requirement for a reliable market classification analysis. Shopping in Morningstar? Tell us what you want and we'll send matching homes as they list. Data from Unlock MLS. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Model outputs are ALEX Intelligence estimates, not appraisals. Read more Central Texas market data on the ALEX blog: https://alex-companies.com/blog MIT, Nvidia, Google & IBM-Trained. Cross Domain-Expert: Quantum, AI, Ethics, Sovereignty, Intelligence, Philanthropy. Solepoint Planning. VUI AI Cloud Architect. AI Certifications Development. Quant/AI Instructor. Castor Venture Club Member. Associate Broker. George Arnold Alexander III, MPA Partner, ALEX Companies Associate Broker, Alexander Tiffany Southwest, LLC dba ALEX.realestate, et.al. Texas License #574878-B · Broker License #565194-BB Broker, ALEX Real Estate · North Carolina License #367733 Independent Broker, ALEX Real Estate · Colorado License #II.100112456 [email protected] · +1 713.918.9951