The fact is: you can’t. Looking at the big picture, home sales remain low as they have for the last three years while listing prices are about as high as they’ve ever been. So – buyer’s, seller’s, nobody’s market?
Of course, as so often happens, the big picture is distorted. Of the top 50 metro areas, 26% can be said to be seller’s markets, 16% are buyer’s markets, and 48% are balanced.
So local markets vary greatly which generally only serves to add to the confusion for consumers.