Sunday Spotlight.
The market is shifting toward balance. That changes the playbook.
For the first time in years, buyers are getting a little more room to breathe. Here’s how to use it.
Balance doesn’t mean buyers win. It means both sides negotiate again.
A seller’s market and a balanced market don’t feel that different day to day, but the difference shows up in the details: how many offers a listing gets, whether contingencies get waived, how much room there is to ask for repairs. Small shifts in those details change how every conversation with a client should go.
The Capital Region isn’t flipping to a buyer’s market. It’s inching off the extreme edge of a seller’s market toward something closer to normal. That still means most well-priced homes move fast, but it also means the eight-offers-over-ask scenario is getting less common, and buyers who couldn’t compete a year ago now have a shot.
The mistake agents make in a shifting market is running last year’s playbook. Advising a buyer to waive inspection because "that’s just how it is right now" costs them leverage they might not need to give up anymore. Advising a seller to skip staging because "it’ll sell anyway" can cost real dollars in a market with a bit more competition.
Capital Region
price ratio
to contract
week of May 24
Supply above 1.3 months and a sale-to-list ratio under 99% both point the same direction: sellers still have the edge, but it’s a smaller edge than it was a year ago. That gap is where negotiation is coming back into deals.
Test the market before you assume last year’s rules still apply.
Before advising a client to waive a contingency or skip a repair ask, check how the last three comparable listings actually closed, not how the market felt eighteen months ago. The data updates faster than the reputation of the market does.
Ask for the inspection contingency. Worst case, the seller says no and you’re exactly where you would’ve been anyway.
Pricing right still matters more than the market label.
A slightly more balanced market punishes overpricing faster than a hot one does. Homes priced to the current data still move quickly. Homes priced for last year’s market sit, and sitting costs more in perception than in actual dollars.
The first two weeks on market still decide most of the outcome. Price for today’s data, not last spring’s memory of it.
You may have more room to negotiate than you think. Ask.
If you got outbid on three homes last year and gave up, it might be worth looking again. Inspection contingencies, closing cost credits, and repair requests are coming back into some deals. Get pre-approved and let’s see what’s realistic for you specifically.
The deal you couldn’t get a year ago might be available today. It’s worth one more look before you assume the answer is still no.
Dad keeps saying "the market is shifting" like it happened overnight. From down here, it’s more like the couch cushions slowly settling after everyone gets up. Nothing dramatic, just a little more give than there used to be. I’d explain further but there’s a bird outside and priorities are priorities.
Deals that close on schedule aren't an accident. These are the people who lived it, in their own words, from Google, Zillow, Facebook and Experience.com.
Not sure what a shifting market means for your specific deal?
Whether you’re advising a client or making your own move, send me the specifics and I’ll tell you honestly whether the old assumptions still hold. Markets shift gradually, and the agents who notice first are the ones whose clients come out ahead.
Sr. Loan Consultant, New American Funding · NMLS #481563 · Albany · NMLS #6606 · Equal Housing Lender.
Local market figures reflect third-party aggregated Albany data for May 2026. Mortgage rate per Freddie Mac PMMS, week of May 24, 2026. Past market performance is not a guarantee of future results. Nothing here is a commitment to lend or an offer of credit.
