Some places are still considered seller’s markets while others have shifted to a buyer’s market. But some are in gridlock, with nothing moving for up to three long months, according to a new study.
Former boomtown spots like Austin, Miami, and Phoenix are all but in checkmate mode, the study from Kind House Buyers, which analyzed Redfin data from the 50 most populous metros.
Nine of the 10 slowest are in the Sun Belt cities that defined pandemic-era speed.
“The markets that moved fastest in 2021–2022 are now grinding to a halt,” the report says.
“What we are seeing isn't a market correction,” said a spokesman for the Tacoma, Wash.-based Kind House Buyers. “Sellers are holding onto peak-market pricing, while buyers are concentrating on today’s payment reality. Neither side wants to blink, so listings just sit. Time on the market has quietly become the most honest indicator of housing stress in 2025.”
In the three slowest markets, it took 88 days or more on average from the day a home was listed last year until a contract was signed. And that did not include the 60 or more days it typically takes the sale to close.
Price realism matters most these days, the report said. “Extended days on the market signal resistance, not invisibility … Overpricing early on often leads to longer stagnation and weaker negotiations down the line.”
Again, Florida is at the forefront of the slowdown, with four of the six slowest markets found within the Sunshine State.
Houses were on the market the longest in Fort Lauderdale, where it took a median of 91.5 days to land a buyer. In Miami, it took 88.9 days, while it was 88.2 days in West Palm Beach, and 80 days in Austin, Texas.
“In cities like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Austin, the slowdown isn’t about lack of interest. It’s about hesitation,” the spokesman said. “Buyers are willing to move, but only if pricing reflects the world as it is now, not the one the seller remembers from two years ago.”
The research found that with more and more houses being listed for sale, sellers should expect slower decision cycles.
“Buyers are cautious, comparison-driven, and less emotionally reactive,” the report noted. “Time has become leverage. The longer a home sits, the more negotiating power shifts away from the seller.”
