Spring’s “busy” housing season is off to a slow crawl: In March, the average listing sat on Zillow for 56 days. Still, not every home is lingering: Those that did sell went under contract in just 19 days.

This 37-day lead between the front of the pack and the laggers is the widest recorded in March in six years. So, why are certain homes gathering dust while others vanish before you can book a tour? It’s because today’s homebuyers have gotten picky. Back in April 2022, when buyers waged bidding wars for just about anything, the gap between properties that sold and those that sat narrowed to a record low of just nine days. Today, though, “higher costs are putting buyers under pressure,” explains Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow. “So they’re more choosy than during the pandemic frenzy.”

Spring’s speediest market

Kansas City, MO, currently has bragging rights as the fastest housing market in the US, where homes typically get snapped up in five days. Several affordable Midwest metros (St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Columbus, OH), as well as a couple of ultra-competitive markets (Richmond, VA, and Hartford, CT), boast homes that sell in six days.

At the other end of the spectrum, Miami home sales take 53 days to cross the finish line. Jacksonville, FL, ranks second-to-last at 46 days. Texas rounds out the stragglers with San Antonio and Austin listings lingering 42 and 40 days, respectively.

Even in slower markets like Miami, however, some homes move quickly: Nearly 9% sell in under a week, and 19.4% close above list price. What sets these homes apart is their condition. Turnkey properties consistently outperform the roughly 34% of listings that require repairs. “Turnkey homes sell for 3.2% more than expected, while fixer-uppers sell for 14% less—the widest gap in the data’s history,” says Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng. “The reward for getting a home into shape has never been higher.”

The lesson? Buyers who can strap on a toolbelt and bring a house up to snuff can work both sides of today’s divided market to their advantage.

“This disparity between fast and slow sales presents an opportunity for investors with the ability to turn a slow sale into a fast one,” says San Antonio, TX–based real estate investor Daniel Cabrera, who recently purchased a fixer-upper that had been sitting on the market for over 120 days. After pouring $28,000 into repairing the roof and foundation, he sold the property in 11 days for an 8% premium over its original price.

His advice? “Seek out markets with growing days on market and purchase properties with condition problems,” he says. “Investors who can scope repair costs and move quickly on stale inventory can capture the largest spread between purchase price and after-repair value that I’ve seen since 2020.”

Find out how long it takes to sell a house in your market here.

If living at the mall is a teen dream you never outgrew, pack your Limited bags: America’s oldest indoor mall, located in Providence, RI, converted its second and third floor into 48 micro-apartments; one unit just listed for $225k. Here’s more about mall-living from listing agent Lisa Jones.

Q: What’s the story of this mall? “The Arcade Mall was built in 1828; it’s almost 200 years old. As a teen in the 80s, I loved going there to grab an Orange Julius. It’s still a functioning mall with storefronts on the first floor: a bookstore, a high-end resale clothing shop, a hairstylist, eyebrow threading, plus a sandwich shop and restaurant.”

Q: When did the mall add apartments? “Around 2013. Downtown’s shape had changed. Fewer people were working nine-to-five, and mall traffic was declining everywhere. Plus, affordable housing was getting harder to find, so adding micro-condos made sense.”

Q: Who lives in these units currently? “It’s a real mix: 23 are owner-occupied full-time residents, 14 are long-term rentals, and 11 are short-term rentals. Up to 30% of units can be rented annually, and there’s no cap on short-term rentals.”

Q: Are there any downsides to living at the mall? “It’s actually quieter than you’d expect. Residents have fob access through the mall or via a separate exterior entrance. The real limitation: There’s no stove. If you love cooking, you’re working with a hot plate or an air fryer. It’s also tiny, 265 square feet, although it comes with a full bath, dishwasher, half-size refrigerator, and tons of storage space.”

Q: The unit for sale is already under contract. Why do you think it went so quickly? “It’s unique. It’s affordable. It’s versatile. It’s a very nostalgic place, and I absolutely adore it. And luckily, I’ve got another apartment here coming on the market in a month.”

Kevin Warsh is all but cleared for landing in the Fed hot seat once Jerome Powell steps down later this month. For housing, the key question isn’t whether rates will fall: It’s whether they will become more predictable.

Warsh is expected to bring significant changes to the Federal Reserve, including shrinking the central bank’s balance sheet, overhauling how inflation is calculated, and clamping down on press briefings and forward guidance. This shakeup, combined with President Trump’s ongoing push for lower rates, “could keep mortgage rates volatile even if the policy rate trends lower,” says Cotality Chief Economist Selma Hepp.

“The real problem in housing is not rate levels, but rate uncertainty. The constant FOMC whipsaw has paralyzed buyers and sellers far more than actual rates,” points out Colorado real estate investor Brian Rudderow.

There is some potential upside: “A Warsh-led Fed that signals less and acts more predictably could unfreeze inventory faster than a 50bps cut.”

That’s why some investors are ignoring forecasts altogether. Rudderow, for example, plans to underwrite every real estate deal at current rates with zero assumptions that rates might drop down the road. “Deals that pencil at 7% are the only ones worth doing,” he says. “The buyers who win the next 18 months will be the ones who acted while everyone else waited for a perfect rate environment.”

Got a question about real estate? Ask it here, and we’ll answer it in a future issue.

Kristi Powell of Hey! Sell My House Fast has closed hundreds of residential transactions across over 15 states. But Tulsa, OK, is one of her favorite markets. Here’s why.

Average home price: $217,450 (up 2.9% YoY)
Homes that sell over list price: 19.2%
Homes that sell under list price: 61.5%
Average rent: $1,229/month

The pros: “Tulsa is an underrated market,” says Powell. “It has a low cost of living, landlord-friendly state laws, and a growing tech scene. The Tulsa Remote program brought in thousands of remote workers.” And with single-family homes for sale in the $120k–$180k range and rents going for $1,100 to $1,400, “this market is genuinely cash-flow positive,” she adds, with lighter investor competition compared to cities in Texas or Tennessee.

Cons: Since Tulsa lies smack in Tornado Alley, “weather is a risk and requires proper insurance and budgeting,” warns Powell. Another downside is that home values here are mild rather than meteoric. “This is a cash flow market, not an appreciation play,” she explains, adding that investors may face limited exit liquidity compared to larger cities.

Her advice: “Buy in Midtown, South Tulsa, or Broken Arrow for the most reliable tenant base,” Powell says, adding that new investors should avoid North Tulsa unless they know a specific neighborhood well. Bargains can definitely be found, which is how she recently bought a house for $50,000, renovated it for $40,000, and now rents it for $1,300 per month. “This is a set-it-and-forget-it rental market,” she says. “Not glamorous, but steady.”

Got a home or housing market you want to highlight in The Playbook? Tell us more about it here, and we’ll consider featuring it in an upcoming issue.