California housing market shift: Buyers are gaining power

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While national active housing inventory for sale at the end of March 2025 was still 20% below pre-pandemic March 2019 levels, on a year-over-year basis national active listings are up 29% between March 2024 and March 2025. This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year.

One of the biggest year-over-year increases is happening in California—where active inventory for sale is up 50% year-over-year.

Despite the 50% year-over-year jump in active California housing inventory for sale—including both single-family homes and condos—California at the end of March 2025 still had 20% fewer homes for sale than it did in pre-pandemic March 2019.

But more California housing markets are climbing out of that inventory deficit. And if the current trajectory holds, California could soon be out of its pandemic housing boom era inventory hole.

Among California’s 36 major counties with at least 100,000 residents, nine have more active housing inventory for sale in March 2025 compared to pre-pandemic March 2019. The other 27 major California counties still have inventory below pre-pandemic March 2019 levels.

In housing markets where active inventory for sale rises significantly, homebuyers are gaining leverage. In housing markets where active inventory for sale has shot up above pre-pandemic 2019 levels, homebuyers have gained considerable leverage relative to past years.

Homebuyers in San Francisco (in particular San Francisco proper’s condo market) had a lot more leverage recently than homebuyers in, say, Orange County.