Florida has landed at the bottom of a new 48-state ranking of housing markets, making it the toughest place in the country to sell a home, according to an analysis by Underwood Law Firm using Redfin Data Center figures.
The state has 206,508 homes on the market, the largest inventory glut of any state in the study. Homes there sit for a median of 73 days before selling, and bidding wars have become rare: only 10.9% of Florida homes sold for more than their asking price.
The firm built its rankings from seven metrics: median sale price, total homes sold, median days on market, annual price changes, active inventory, the share of homes selling above asking, and the share of listings that had a price cut. Each factor was weighted by how much it typically affects sellers, then combined into a single difficulty score used to rank all 48 states from most punishing to most forgiving for sellers.
Texas came in second-worst. The state has 180,524 homes for sale and a median time on market of 68 days. About 23% of sellers there had to cut their asking price, one of the highest markdown rates in the study.
South Carolina ranked third. Homes there sit for a median of 74 days, 22.1% of listings saw a price cut, and just 13% sold above asking.
Montana ranked fourth and had the slowest market of any state studied, with homes sitting for a median of 85 days. The data showed zero homes in Montana selling for more than their list price.
Arizona rounded out the five toughest markets, with a median 66-day wait and 21.4% of sellers forced to lower their price.
Northeast states are easiest for sellers
The rankings flip sharply in the Northeast. Connecticut scored as the most seller-friendly market in the country, ranking 48th out of 48. There, 55.8% of homes sold above asking, the highest share in the nation.
Rhode Island ranked 47th, with 45.4% of homes selling above list price and a median time on market of just 31 days, less than half of Florida’s wait.
New Jersey ranked 46th, with 48.3% of homes selling over asking despite a median price of $587,553.
Massachusetts ranked 45th. Despite a median price of $657,263, one of the highest in the study, 43.6% of homes there still sold above asking.
Illinois ranked 44th, with 11,526 home sales, a median of 52 days on market, and 35.8% of homes selling over asking.
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