Is It a Buyer's Market in the Southwest Metro Right Now? (Fall 2026)

I get a version of this question from both sides right now, which almost never happens. Buyers want to know if they finally have room to negotiate. Sellers want to know if they’ve missed their window. Here’s the honest answer: rates went up, not down, and that single fact has quietly shifted leverage back toward buyers more than anything else happening in this market.

Rates Went Up, and That’s What Changed the Leverage

Thirty-year fixed rates have climbed, and that’s cooled off a chunk of the buyer pool who were stretching to make a number work. Fewer buyers competing for the same house means the ones still shopping have actual room to negotiate again, something that barely existed a couple of years ago when everything went for well over ask with ten competing offers. I just negotiated $30,000 off the price of a home in Edina, and that’s not a fluke or a distressed seller situation, that’s just what’s possible right now when you’re not bidding against eight other offers.

Inventory Is Better, and Fewer Buyers Are Chasing It

Listings have been climbing back toward more normal levels after several genuinely strange years, and combined with a smaller pool of active buyers, that’s exactly the mix that hands leverage to whoever’s still out there shopping. It doesn’t mean prices are collapsing, homes in good condition at a fair price are still moving, but it does mean the days of waiving every contingency and offering $20,000 over ask just to get a look are mostly behind us for now.

Fall Is a Real Window, Not a Consolation Prize

There’s a persistent idea that anything not listed by May is somehow a lost cause, and I’ve never found that to be true here. Fall brings a genuine, meaningful wave of activity once school schedules settle down and summer vacations wrap up, buyers who want to be moved in before winter start moving with real intent. If you’re a buyer, that also means less competition than the spring frenzy. If you’re a seller, it means the buyers still out there right now tend to be serious, not just browsing.

What This Actually Means for Each Side

For buyers, this is the most negotiating room you’ve had in years, on price, on closing costs, on repairs after inspection. Don’t assume you have to match asking price just because that used to be the rule. For sellers, it means pricing accurately the first time matters more than ever, a home that goes on at an optimistic number now just sits, and sitting is the thing that actually costs you leverage. The sellers doing well right now are the ones pricing to the current market instead of the market from two years ago.

Neither side needs to panic, but both sides need to actually understand which way the leverage has shifted instead of going on what a neighbor’s 2021 sale looked like. It’s a different market now, and the people doing well in it are the ones paying attention.

If you want a real, current read on what this means for your specific house or your specific search, not a generic market report, get a free home valuation here if you’re thinking about selling, or reach out directly and I’ll give you the actual picture for where you’re looking.

Related reading: if you’re buying in this market, here’s the honest answer on waiving your inspection to win a competitive offer, and if you’re still choosing a suburb, Eden Prairie vs. Chanhassen vs. Chaska.

Talk soon, Luka