Top 10 Real Estate Buyers' Markets

July 11, 2012 — -- intro:

Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland lead the list of Zillow's top real estate buyers' markets, with homes in those metropolitan areas taking longer to sell and buyers receiving an average discount of 5 percent off asking prices.

Along with publishing a list of the top ten buyers' markets, online real estate marketplace Zillow published a list of the top ten sellers' markets, with San Jose, Calif., and San Francisco topping the list.

To rank the 50 largest metropolitan areas by negotiating power for sellers and buyers, Zillow analyzed its data for sale-to-list price ratio, number of days listed on Zillow, and percent of homes on the market with a price cut.

Zillow defined a buyers' market as an area where buyers have more bargaining power, with listings lingering longer on the market and "sellers being forced to cut asking prices."

Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries said it was "refreshing to see some markets swinging back in favor of sellers, with asking prices being met and listings spending fewer days on market."

"The housing recession has been long and rocky, and we're seeing more balance during this summer selling season," Humphries said in a statement. "Of course, many markets are still firmly in favor of buyers, and we expect that to continue until the recovery takes more of a hold nationwide."

Here are Zillow's top ten buyers' markets on a scale of one to ten:

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 8.4media: 16750102title: Chicago, Ill. text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9487

• Homes with price cuts: 39.3 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 182

• Zillow median home value: $158,300

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7.97title: Milwaukee, Wis.text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9488

• Homes with price cuts: 39.7 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 161.5

• Zillow median home value: $165,800

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7.67title: Cleveland, Ohiotext:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9448

• Homes with price cuts: 38.2 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 148

• Zillow median home value: $107,700

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7.56title: New York, N.Y.media: 16433100 text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9464

• Homes with price cuts: 30.9 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 190

• Zillow median home value: $335,700

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7.46title: Philadelphia, Pa.media: 16719988 text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9505

• Homes with price cuts: 40.8 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 146.5

• Zillow median home value: $184,200

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7.1title: Jacksonville, Fla.text:• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9547

• Homes with price cuts: 33.7 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 160.5

• Zillow median home value: $117,900

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 7title: Providence, R.I.text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9462

• Homes with price cuts: 37.4 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 131

• Zillow median home value: $208,700

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 6.83title: Cincinnati, Ohiotext:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9513

• Homes with price cuts: 35.9 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 136

• Zillow median home value: $121,100

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 6.63title: Hartford, Conn.text:

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.9556

• Homes with price cuts: 39.1 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 134

• Zillow median home value: $209,500

quicklist:category: Buyers' market index value: 6.6title: Houston, Texastext:• Sale-to-list price ratio: 0.944

• Homes with price cuts: 32.5 percent

• Average days on Zillow: 133.5

• Zillow median home value: N/A. Texas is a non-disclosure state that limits access to public record data for home values.