Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Potential homebuyers in Southeast Michigan are seeing more choices on the market, with inventory up 13 percent year-over-year in November, the highest level in five years, according to Realcomp.

However, Livingston County's housing market remains tight, with new listings down three percent compared to November 2024, and overall sales down nearly 16 percent year-over-year.

The media sales price remained relatively flat at $385,000. That's leaving many young couples and families on the sidelines, waiting for both mortgage rates and home prices to come down.

"They have certain expectations of what they will get and then reality, it's just not the same as what we would like to see in our first home," says Howell realtor Laura Toms.

"Typically, after seeing some homes, they figure it out."

The Federal Reserve last week cut its key interest rate, again. Toms believes that will be the trend moving forward.

"From what my loan officers are telling me, we will see some continued decreases through 2026 and 2027, and they have come down just a little bit," she says.

"It's unlikely that we'll see those three percent interest rates again, but keep the faith. Inventory will improve as people retire and move down south, and new homes continue to be built."

She urges would-be homebuyers to stick with it, adding many lenders are offering incentives to help ease the pain of downn payment and closing costs.

Realcomp's latest data for November 2025 is attached below.