Market Insight · Late Spring 2026
For Buyers · Part 2 of 2
Every buyer I talk to this time of year asks me the same question: did we miss the spring market?
I love that question. Because the honest answer is: if you mean the bidding-war, write-the-offer-in-an-hour spring of 2021, yes, you missed it. That market is gone, and frankly, you should be glad. But if you mean the actual buying window of 2026, the truth is the opposite of what most people think.
In Dallas, the months when most buyers stop looking are some of the best months to actually buy. After 12 years in this market, I want to tell you why, and how to use the next 90 days strategically.
What I Am Seeing Right Now in Dallas
The Dallas market in May 2026 is more balanced than it has been in years. Inventory has improved meaningfully across DFW. We are now closer to four to five months of supply in many segments, which is a real shift. Mortgage rates have settled in the low-to-mid 6s, and most economists expect them to ease modestly through the rest of the year, with some forecasts pointing to the upper 5s by year-end.
Buyers have leverage they did not have two years ago. Negotiation is back. Inspection requests are back. Closing-cost concessions are back. Rate buy-downs are common. None of these things existed in the spring of 2021, and many buyers do not realize how much the dynamic has shifted in their favor.
The Window Everyone Misses
Here is the part nobody talks about: July through early September is when serious, prepared buyers find some of the best opportunities of the year. Almost no one is telling them this.
By mid-July, the family buyers who needed to close before the school year have already closed. The pool of active buyers thins out. But the homes that listed in March, April, and May, the ones that did not sell in the spring window, are still on the market. Their days-on-market is climbing. Their sellers are tired. And that is when price reductions start to appear in real, meaningful ways.
Buyers who are prepared, patient, and working with an agent who knows the market can find genuine value in this window. Not every home. But the right home, with motivated sellers, on terms that simply do not exist in May.
"July through early September is when serious, prepared buyers find some of the best opportunities of the year. Almost no one is telling them this."
What Buyers Should Do in May and June to Be Ready
The buyers who win in July and August do not start their search in July and August. They start now. Here is what readiness looks like:
Get Fully Pre-approved, Not Pre-qualified
A real underwritten pre-approval, not a soft online estimate, gives you the leverage to move quickly when the right home appears. In a market with more options, sellers still respond fastest to the strongest, cleanest offers.
Define What You Actually Want
I cannot count how many buyers spent 2024 and 2025 looking at every neighborhood from Plano to Oak Cliff and never wrote an offer. Specificity wins. School district, commute, lot size, style, must-haves, deal-breakers. Get clear before you tour.
Tour Now, Even if You Are Not Ready to Buy Yet
Walking through five to ten homes in May and June teaches you the market faster than any spreadsheet. By July, you will know exactly what $1.2M, $1.8M, and $2.5M actually looks like in your target neighborhood, and you will recognize a deal when you see one.
Build Relationships With Off-market Access
Some of the best transactions in Dallas right now are happening before homes ever hit Zillow. Many of my clients see properties through our internal Allie Beth Allman network days or weeks before the public does. That access is not bought. It is built through relationships.
Where the Value is, and Where It is Not
Dallas has never been a single market, and that is more true now than ever. Well-priced, move-in-ready homes in Lakewood, the M Streets, Lake Highlands, Park Cities, and the Royal Square are still moving, and in some cases still receiving multiple offers. That is not where buyer leverage shows up.
Where Buyer Leverage Shows Up
"Homes on the market 45 or more days without a price adjustment. New construction with builders who need to move spec inventory before year-end. Homes above $1.2 million where sellers have grown more flexible. Neighborhoods with more inventory than buyer demand right now. Your agent should be able to tell you exactly which ones."
Do not expect to negotiate hard on a beautifully prepared, fairly priced home in Highland Park ISD on its first weekend. That is not the part of the market where buyers have leverage. Knowing the difference is half the strategy.
What About Waiting for Rates?
Every buyer asks. Here is the honest answer: rates may ease later this year. They may not. What I have watched happen many times is the moment rates drop, the buyers who were sitting on the sidelines all flood back in, inventory tightens, and the leverage you have right now disappears within weeks.
A 0.25% rate drop saves you about $150 a month on an $800,000 loan. A motivated seller offering a $25,000 price reduction or a 2-1 rate buy-down can save you far more, and that is what is available right now.
The buyers who are winning in 2026 are not waiting for the perfect rate. They are getting prepared, getting clear, and being ready to move when the right home appears.
"The buyers who are winning in 2026 are not waiting for the perfect rate. They are getting prepared, getting clear, and being ready to move when the right home appears."
