Dive Brief:

• Home sellers have the upper hand in Western U.S. markets, but buyers are increasingly calling the shots in the South, Midwest and Northeast, according to a new survey of Redfin real estate agents.

• Tight inventories in nearly all U.S. markets mean sellers have a lot of sway when it comes to home prices, but “the improving inventory situation” in the South, Midwest, and Northeast is giving buyers more confidence to negotiate for better terms, the survey said. But confidence among Western sellers jumped by 12% since last year.

• The report also said millennial homebuyers are struggling to find homes they can afford. First-time buyers, the survey noted, are doing more housing market research than in previous years, so they are making more educated homebuying decisions.

Dive Insight:

“Waning seller power of 2014 was all about less intense buyer demand, but this year, demand is back in force in the West,” the report noted. Redfin’s evidence of an improving seller position in the West comes from agent reports of multiple offers for individual homes in markets like Portland, OR, Denver, Seattle, and Oakland, CA. 

“With interest rates holding steady below 4 percent,” the report said, “high buyer demand and low inventory have created a surging seller’s market in the West.”