Why Buyer Interest in Homes is Surging and What Sellers Need to Know Now

By Jeff Hernandez, Realtor & Attorney — The Connie Colla Group at RETSY

If you’ve been watching the housing headlines, you’ve probably noticed a tug-of-war narrative: some say the market is cooling; others claim it’s heating back up. The reality is more nuanced; and far more useful for sellers.

Here’s the signal cutting through the noise: buyer interest is climbing again. We can see it not only at open houses or in the MLS, but in the digital footprints buyers leave behind. According to Google Trends, searches for phrases like “homes for sale” surged to a two-year high in mid-July 2025; a clear sign that shoppers are back in research mode. Check the trend yourself here: Google Trends: “homes for sale” (U.S., past 2 years).

As a Scottsdale Realtor® and attorney, I see this shift in real conversations. The pattern now: buyers are cautious; but quick to act when a listing matches their criteria.

What Search Trends Reveal About Buyer Behavior

Search data is a leading indicator. Before buyers schedule a tour, they spend weeks comparing neighborhoods, prices, and features online. The recent two-year high in home-search queries suggests pent-up demand is moving from browsing to shortlisting. Keeping Current Matters highlighted the same spike with a mid-July peak across common buyer queries.

Why that matters: online curiosity often precedes offers. If shoppers are back to peak search interest, your future buyer may already be looking for a home like yours today.

The Broader Market Picture: More Choice, Slower Pace, Healthier Balance

Inventory is Finally Giving Buyers Options

Nationally, active listings topped 1.1 million in July 2025, up 24.8% year-over-year; the 21st straight month of inventory growth and the third consecutive month above the one-million threshold, according to the Realtor.com July 2025 Housing Market Trends Report. Homes also spent a median of 58 days on market; a full week longer than last year, signaling more time for shoppers to compare and negotiate.

Weekly tracking shows the depth of this improvement: more than 1.1M homes have been on the market for 12 straight weeks, the highest level since November 2019. See: Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends (through late July 2025).

Sales and Prices: Steady, With Signs of Regional Cooling

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports existing-home sales rose 2.0% in July to a 4.01 million Seasonally-Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR), while the median sales price was $422,400, up 0.2% year-over-year; the slowest annual pace since 2023. See the NAR July 2025 Existing-Home Sales release and the quick NAR Housing Snapshot.

At the same time, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data show home prices dipped 0.3% month-over-month in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, with national prices up 1.9% year-over-year; still growing, but more slowly than inflation. Read: MarketWatch on June Case-Shiller and S&P’s announcement: S&P: U.S. National Index +1.9% YoY in June 2025.

What it means: buyers finally have more choice; sellers must stand out with presentation and pricing. This is a healthier market than the 2021 frenzy; less rushed, more rational.

Mortgage Rates and Affordability: Stabilizing, Not Spiking

Rates aren’t at pandemic lows, but they’ve eased from early-summer peaks and stabilized. Freddie Mac’s PMMS shows the 30-year fixed averaged ~6.72% at the end of July and ~6.58% by mid-August 2025.

A quarter-point swing may not sound dramatic, but for many buyers it translates into hundreds of dollars per month; often the difference between “waiting” and “writing.”

How Buyers Actually Shop (and Decide)

Buyers Live Online and Stay there Longer than You Think

According to NAR’s latest consumer study, all home buyers used the internet during their search in 2024; they spent a median of 10 weeks searching and viewed seven homes, two of them entirely online.

And when it comes to listing content, photos are the single most valuable website feature (41%); beating out floor plans and detailed descriptions.

What Today’s Buyers Will Pay a Premium For

Move-in ready matters. A national study of over 2 million listings found that homes described as “remodeled” sold for 3.7% more than expected (about $13,194 on a typical U.S. home), while fixer-uppers sold for a 7.3% discount; the largest in three years. See Zillow’s research release and PR Newswire.

The Rise of Multigenerational Living

Another trend shaping search behavior: multigenerational homes. NAR reports that 17% of all purchases from July 2023 to June 2024 were multigenerational; the highest share on record since tracking began.

For longer-horizon context, Pew Research Center shows multigenerational living more than doubled since 1971 (7% → 18% in 2021). That’s a structural shift in how Americans use their homes.

What This Market Means for Sellers (Right Now)

1. Timing: You Don’t Need a Frenzy; You Need a Fit

With search interest at a two-year high and inventory at a six-year high (relative to late 2019), the buyer for your home may already be searching. Google Trends and Realtor.com weekly inventory back this up.

2. Presentation: Move-in Ready Sells Faster And Stronger

Small upgrades punch above their weight. Fresh paint, modern lighting, and light staging can help you capture the “turnkey premium” buyers are signaling they’ll pay.

3. Marketing: Win Online Before You Win in Person

Buyers start and stay online. Invest in professional photography and floor plans; they’re consistently the top-valued pieces of listing content.

Use the same phrases buyers type, “Scottsdale homes for sale,” “move-in ready,” “casita,” “multigenerational”, in your listing copy, captions, and alt text. It sounds simple, but matching real search language increases discovery across portals and Google.

4. Pricing: Respect the Comps in a Slower-Moving Market

With 58 median days on market and list-price softening across the South and West, pricing to the market is essential.

5. Negotiation: Monitor Rates and Case-Shiller

A small rate move can reactivate sidelined shoppers. Keep one eye on Freddie Mac PMMS and the other on Case-Shiller for pricing momentum.

Conclusion: Your Next Move

The market isn’t 2021, and that’s a good thing. With more inventory, longer days on market, and buyers searching at a two-year high, success today comes from preparation and positioning, not speed.

If you’re weighing a sale, the data points, from Google Trends to NAR and Case-Shiller, all say the same thing: serious buyers are here. The question is whether your home shows up for them, and whether it tells the right story when it does.