Buyer’s or seller’s housing market? Zillow’s updated regional ratings for over 400 markets

Zillow developed the Market Heat Index to measure housing market competitiveness using indicators like price changes and inventory. Higher scores indicate seller-friendly markets, while lower scores favor buyers. The index categorizes markets into strong seller's, seller's, neutral, buyer's, and strong buyer's markets. ResiClub PRO members can access this index and over 70 other metrics on their platform. A screenshot displays September readings of the index from 2019 through 2025, allowing users to track market shifts. The author generally agrees with Zillow's regional assessments, noting buyer strength near the Gulf and seller resilience in the Northeast and Midwest. However, the author identifies Southwest Florida as the weakest U.S. housing market, followed by parts of Texas and Colorado. They suggest some West Coast markets are softer than Zillow indicates, while some Midwest markets are tighter. The author emphasizes that the Zillow Market Heat Index should not be the solemetric used. They recommend considering other factors such as inventory change speed and inventory levels compared to 2019. Additionally, year-over-year and monthly home price changes are important metrics to analyze.