The 10 best cities to buy a home in 2026

• Realtor.com ranked the 10 cities where homebuyers have the most bargaining power.
• The majority of the cities are in the South and sit in the Sun Belt region.
• Florida has more metros on the list than any other state, with one of its most popular cities leading.

Homebuyers are finally gaining the upper hand in the real estate market.

It's no longer the market of 2020, when buyers fought over scarce listings, and sellers had more leverage. Today, there's a surplus of homes for sale across many cities. And with demand softer thanks to higher mortgage rates, a shakier economy, and still-high prices, listings are sitting on the market longer. It's giving power back to buyers, who face less competition and have more choices.

Realtor.com identified 10 metros where buyers have the most bargaining power. Most are in the South, and are located in the Sun Belt — a region that stretches from Florida to California. Of all states, Florida has the most metros on the list.

"In Florida, growing supply has coincided with softening demand amid rising housing costs that have pushed more buyers to the sidelines," said Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. "New construction has continued to add inventory even as affordability constraints have reduced buyer activity."

Here are the 10 strongest metros for homebuyers, according to Realtor.com. Notably, two tie in eighth place.

Business Insider included each city's median listing price and months of supply — a measure of how long it would take to sell all active and pending listings at the metro's current sales pace — using data from Realtor.com.