By Mike Lentz | The Mike Lentz Team – Keller Williams Realty
As of May 2026, South Jersey is still mostly a seller’s market, though whether your county is a buyer’s or seller’s market varies. Gloucester and Camden remain seller-favorable, with prices up 5.5% and 7% over last year and homes selling in about two weeks. Burlington has cooled to balanced, while Salem and Cumberland give buyers more room to negotiate.
Whether your area is a buyer’s or seller’s market comes down to the balance of power between buyers and sellers, and that balance has shifted across the country over the past few years. Remember when sellers held all the cards? Buyers were stuck offering way over asking or waiving inspections just to get a chance at a house. In many markets, those days are behind us.
While it varies by area, more metros are slowly shifting to favor buyers. The market is starting to look a lot more like a two-way street again.
And that balance is something we haven’t had in a while.
Whether you’re buying or selling in Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, or Cumberland counties, here’s what you need to know about what’s changing and what it means for your move.
What Is a Buyer’s Market vs. a Seller’s Market?
Before you can tell which way your county is leaning, it helps to know what the terms actually mean. The dividing line is supply: how many months it would take to sell every home currently listed at the current pace of sales.
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Seller’s market: More buyers than homes for sale. Inventory is tight, usually under about four months of supply. Homes sell fast, often at or above asking, and sellers hold the leverage on price and terms.
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Buyer’s market: More homes than buyers. Supply builds past roughly six months. Homes sit longer, price cuts and seller concessions become common, and buyers have room to negotiate.
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Balanced market: Roughly five to six months of supply. Neither side has a clear edge, and well-priced homes move at a steady, normal pace.
Days on market and how prices are moving are two of the easiest signals to watch. When homes sell in a couple of weeks and prices keep climbing, sellers are in control. When listings linger and price reductions pile up, the advantage tips toward buyers.
The Most Buyer-Friendly Market in Years
The national data tells an interesting story right now. According to Realtor.com:
“The national housing market is balanced but gradually loosening as the cycle moves in a more buyer-friendly direction…“
That’s because, over the past few years, more and more metros have been flipping back to more buyer-friendly terms as inventory has grown. When you zoom in on the latest data for the top 50 metro markets over time, the trend becomes really clear.
Back in 2021, almost all major metros were seller’s markets. By the end of 2025, only 1 in 3 still favored sellers. That’s an obvious shift.
And that changes how the market is going to feel for everyone. Sellers shouldn’t still expect 2021 conditions, but neither should buyers. At least, not generally speaking.
Is South Jersey a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market by County?
That said, who has the power ultimately depends on where you live. While more metros are leaning buyer-friendly lately, there are still plenty of strong seller’s markets right now, too.
It really comes down to how much housing supply and demand there is in your area. And that varies enormously by region.
Sun Belt cities like Austin, Tampa, and San Antonio saw major building booms in recent years. That gave buyers more options and more negotiating room. Meanwhile, cities in the Northeast and Midwest didn’t see that same wave. So inventory stayed tight and competition stayed fierce.
As Jeff Ostrowski, Housing Analyst at Bankrate, explains:
“The formerly hot Sun Belt markets have cooled, while the Northeast and Midwest have stayed hot. The big driver here is construction activity. The softest markets now [have] experienced big booms that spurred new building, and that has led to a large supply of new and existing homes on the market in those places.”
South Jersey by the Numbers (May 2026)
Here is where our five counties actually stand, based on the latest closed-sale data we track each month:
| County | Median Sale Price | Price vs. a Year Ago | Days on Market | Who Has the Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucester | $385,000 | +5.5% | ~14 | Leans seller |
| Camden | $380,000 | +7.0% | ~14 | Leans seller |
| Burlington | $390,000 | Flat | ~15 | Balanced |
| Cumberland | $295,000 | +8.7% | ~19 | Mixed, more buyer room |
| Salem | $265,000 | +1.9% | ~35 | Most buyer-friendly |
The headline: South Jersey has not flipped to a buyer’s market the way many Sun Belt metros have. In Gloucester and Camden, prices are still up 5.5% to 7% year over year and homes are selling in about two weeks, which keeps sellers firmly in control. Burlington has settled into balanced territory with flat prices and a slightly slower 15-day pace.
Buyers find the most breathing room in Salem and Cumberland. Salem homes now take about 35 days to sell, up sharply from 15 a year ago, so buyers there have real negotiating power even though prices are still inching up. Cumberland is the wild card: prices jumped 8.7%, yet inventory has grown enough that buyers have more to choose from than they did last year. The point is simple. Where you are in South Jersey changes who has the leverage, so the right strategy in Salem looks nothing like the right strategy in Camden.
One easy way to spot where sellers are most likely to negotiate: look at homes that have been sitting. We keep a live search for each county that pulls every listing on the market 45 days or longer, which is usually where buyers have the most room on price and terms. Browse the current ones here:
Practical Advice for Buyers and Sellers
To find out who has the power in your local market, talk to an agent. Knowing what’s happening locally is going to be the key to setting the right strategy for your move.
If the market is working in your favor, great. Lean in and use it to your benefit. But if it’s not, all hope isn’t lost. Your agent can help you figure out how to approach any market.
Here’s some practical advice if there’s a mismatch between your goal and local market conditions.
If You’re Buying in a Seller’s Market
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Get pre-approved before you start shopping. It shows sellers you’re serious.
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Be ready to act fast when the right home hits the market.
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Consider offering a quick closing date or flexible terms.
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Work closely with your agent to craft a competitive offer.
If You’re Selling in a Buyer’s Market
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Price it right from day one. Overpricing will cost you time and money.
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Focus on curb appeal and staging to stand out in areas with more inventory.
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Be open to offering incentives, like covering closing costs or a home warranty.
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Expect buyers to negotiate and be ready to be flexible.
Bottom Line
Right now, local markets are moving in very different directions. Your strategy as a buyer or seller should reflect your market.
Want to know which way the market is leaning in your county and what that means for your move? Knowing whether your county is a buyer’s or seller’s market will help you make smarter decisions on price, timing, and terms. If you want to talk through what this means for your situation, schedule a quick call and we’ll walk through it together.
For the full picture in your county, see our county market reports for Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland counties.
