Real estate agents surveyed by CNBC in the second quarter of 2026 reported a significant shift toward market balance, with 44% observing equilibrium between buyers and sellers, up from 30% in the third quarter of last year. The shift resulted from increased housing supply and easing prices, which gave buyers more leverage after years of a seller-dominated market. The CNBC Housing Market Survey collected responses from 53 randomly selected agents across the United States between June 23 and June 30, revealing changes in pricing behavior, contract cancellations, and buyer concerns compared to previous quarters.
CNBC Survey Shows 44% of Agents Report Balanced Market in Q2 2026
The CNBC Housing Market Survey found that 44% of real estate agents in the second quarter reported seeing a balanced market between buyers and sellers, a substantial increase from 30% in the third quarter of last year when CNBC began its quarterly survey. Jeremy Kane, a real estate agent with EXP Realty in Denver, stated that "it certainly feels like, depending on the home, depending on the neighborhood, depending on the condition and the price point, that both the buyer and the seller do have a little bit of leverage."
Home sales in May increased 3% compared to the same month last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The increase resulted from more supply on the market and easing prices.
Sellers Reduce Price Cuts as Asking Prices Drop 2.5% Year-Over-Year
Agents who reported at least one price cut to active listings dropped to 57% in the second-quarter survey, compared with 89% during the third quarter of 2025. Bruce Jones, an agent with Compass in Nashville, Tennessee, said, "No one really seems to be fighting me much on price like they used to. We're not really seeing huge decreases in prices. We've kind of plateaued, but I don't see people arguing too much about that. If it's priced correctly, it is moving."
Asking prices in June were down 2.5% year over year, according to Realtor.com. The company reported this as the largest annual drop since it began tracking the metric in 2017 and the eighth straight month of declines. Home prices remained slightly higher than a year ago, up just under 1%, according to the S&P Case-Shiller national home price index.
Martha Thorn, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Tampa, Florida, stated, "I always tell sellers that I'm in the business of selling homes, not storing them, and so you really need to put a property at the right price in order to get it sold."
With asking prices more aligned with current market conditions, agents also reported fewer contract cancellations. Just 40% of survey respondents said they had at least one contract fall through in the second quarter, compared with 51% in the first quarter of this year.
Mortgage Rates Become Top Buyer Concern at 37% in Q2 Survey
Mortgage rates and prices overtook the economy as the biggest buyer concerns reported by agents during the second quarter. At the end of last year, 26% of agents said their buyers' biggest concern was mortgage rates. That figure jumped to 37% in the second-quarter survey.
Mortgage rates fell after last summer, hitting a low of 5.99% on the 30-year fixed at the end of February, according to Mortgage News Daily. Rates then spiked higher at the start of March after the war began. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage last peaked at 6.75% on May 19 and has since hovered around the 6.6% range.
Respondents said concerns over inventory decreased dramatically. The Iran war sparked significant worry in March, but that concern appears to have subsided.
Housing Inventory Reaches 1.1 Million Listings in June
Inventory in June was up just under 2% from the year before, according to Realtor.com, and new listings rose 2.4%. There are currently 1.1 million homes listed for sale, according to Realtor.com. At this time in 2023, just after the pandemic-driven housing boom, there were around 614,000 listings.
The market remains lean but has improved compared to recent years. Joel Eronko with Nicholas Joel Realty Group in Houston stated, "The challenge isn't a lack of buyers, it's a psychology gap. My focus this quarter is keeping clients focused on real-time, hyper-local data rather than national economic headlines."
Agent Optimism on Sales Drops to 19% from 48% in Previous Year
Agents have become less optimistic about sales, according to CNBC's survey. In the second-quarter findings, just 19% of respondents said they expect sales to improve in the near future, down from 48% in the third quarter of last year. The majority of agents, 67%, said they think sales will stay about the same.
Stagnantly high mortgage rates are largely responsible for the decreased optimism. While the market is shifting into balance nationally, there is wide divergence locally.
FAQ
What percentage of real estate agents reported a balanced market in Q2 2026?
According to the CNBC Housing Market Survey, 44% of real estate agents in the second quarter of 2026 reported seeing a balanced market between buyers and sellers, up from 30% in the third quarter of last year.
How much did asking prices drop year-over-year in June?
Asking prices in June were down 2.5% year over year, according to Realtor.com. This represented the largest annual drop since the company began tracking this metric in 2017 and marked the eighth straight month of declines.
What is the current mortgage rate range reported in the survey period?
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage peaked at 6.75% on May 19 and has since hovered around the 6.6% range, according to Mortgage News Daily. Rates had previously hit a low of 5.99% at the end of February before spiking higher in March.
