Michiana market

Buyer's market or seller's market?

The national headline is almost never our answer. Here is how you actually tell, and where St. Joseph County sits right now.

How you actually tell

One number: months of supply. It is how long it would take to sell every home currently for sale at the current pace of sales, with nothing new listed. Under about four months is a seller's market. Over about six is a buyer's market. In between is balanced.

Everything else — days on market, price changes, how busy the open houses feel — is downstream of that one number.

Where St. Joseph County sits

1.8months of supply, May 2026 — against an expected range of 1.3 to 1.5
+11%supply, month over month
$250,000median sale price, up 11% year over year

Source: Indiana Association of REALTORS monthly market report, May 2026.

So: still firmly a seller's market by the four-month rule — but supply is building, not shrinking. That "expected range" gap matters more than the headline number. We are carrying more inventory than this market normally carries at this point in the year, and the direction has been up.

My take

Supply is quietly building, not shrinking. That does not make it a buyer's market and anybody telling you it does is selling something. What it does mean is that the automatic multiple-offer situation is no longer automatic, and pricing sloppily costs more than it did a year ago. Sellers still have the advantage here. They just have less room to be careless with it.

What it means for you

  • If you are selling: you still have the stronger hand, but price it to the market that exists this month rather than the one from last spring. The first two weeks are the whole ballgame.
  • If you are buying: you have marginally more room than you did, especially on homes that have been sitting. Not a lot. Enough to negotiate rather than just capitulate.
  • If you are waiting for a buyer's market here: at 1.8 months you would need supply to more than triple. Plan around the market you have.

I re-run this every month. If you want the version for your specific price band and town rather than the county-wide figure, ask — that is the number that actually applies to your house.

Need help buying or selling real estate?

Tell me what you're working on and I'll get back to you personally. No pressure, and if I'm not the right fit for you I'll say so.

What are you looking to do?
Are you currently working with a real estate agent?

I’ll reply by email or phone — no automated texts from this form.
Rather just talk? Call or text 574-850-2252