March Market Report: Opportunity in Uncertainty

Grant Brissey

March 28, 2025

2 Minute Read

Macroeconomic indicators are pointing emphatically to growing uncertainty. Consumer confidence is flagging amid on-again off-again tariffs and inflation concerns, stocks are tumbling, and wage growth is slowing. A March employee confidence survey from Glassdoor found sentiment at the lowest point since it began collecting data in 2016. Still, mortgage applications were up 31% from last March, as rates hit their lowest point since December. Annual home value growth has slowed to an 18-month low of 2.1%, helping buyers make up ground with affordability. As we move away from the sellers’ markets of the last few years, prepared buyers may find the upper hand in more metros.

Uncertainty can bring opportunity

“For buyer agents, these anxious conditions call for working closely with your clients — and a loan officer — to ensure that they’re confident about their future,” says Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen. “For those buyers who feel certain, opportunities may exist with sellers whose drive to sell is a life event or like a job change or a desire to downsize. In some cases, uncertainty can also be a motivating factor for sellers.”

Buyers can also be encouraged to lean on the Buyability tool, which gives personalized estimates of the home price and monthly payment a buyer can afford based on their specific financial inputs. A personalized affordability view that updates daily with rates is especially helpful during times of volatility. For sellers, conditions mean that it’s a great time to work closely with agents on pricing strategies.

“Despite a recent dip, buyers are facing still-elevated rates,” she says. “Right-pricing your home could mean capitalizing on the last few years’ price growth instead of waiting to see what happens later this year or in 2026.”

Best time to list approaches

Research from Zillow shows that clients who list a home in the spring can see a significant financial advantage. Data from last year shows that sellers who listed in the last two weeks of May netted an extra 1.6% on the sale relative to selling at other times during the year. That’s about $5,600 on the typical U.S. home. 

While late-April through early-May has traditionally been considered prime selling season, the trend more recently has been disrupted by factors like the pandemic and fluctuating mortgage rates. 

“We’re starting to see rate fluctuations create their own seasonality,” Olsen says. “This year we’ve already seen mortgage and refinance activity pick up starting in late February when rates dipped, and that’s consistent with what we saw in September 2024, when there was a similar drop.” 

Back in 2022, sellers nationwide saw the highest premiums when they listed their home in late March — right before rates surged past 5% and then kept climbing. Buyers that year pulled back as the season progressed, so earlier sellers fared better. 

In 2023, buyers hoping for lower rates held off demand until later in the season, pushing peak selling time all the way into June.

Least competitive markets	Most competitive markets
Miami	Buffalo
New Orleans	San Jose
Jacksonville	San Francisco
Tampa	Hartford
Memphis	Boston

See more market-specific data with Zillow’s Market Heat Index.