Home shopping season is here, and the experience can feel quite different for house hunters in Boston than those in Miami. A new analysis from Zillow® shows buyers from Buffalo to Boston face at least 10 competitors for every home, while home shoppers in the Sun Belt likely have more room to negotiate.

There are 5.5 engaged home shoppers — people who have saved or shared a for-sale listing on Zillow — for every home on the market nationwide. The ratio is greater than 10 to 1 in four Northeast markets: Buffalo, Hartford, Providence and Boston. In each, the typical home sells in 10 days, and more than half sell above list price, a sign of bidding wars.

Five most competitive markets:

1. Buffalo

2. Hartford

3. Providence

4. Boston

5. Richmond

"This spring, we're seeing signs of a more balanced housing market. Inventory is up 20% over last year, and about 1 in every 4 sellers are cutting prices," said Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy. "Still, there are areas where competition is intense and there are bidding wars for most homes. To compete in these markets, buyers need their finances in order, full visibility into what's for sale and an agent who is an expert negotiator in their corner."

Nationwide, the housing market is becoming friendlier to buyers, despite continued affordability challenges. More sellers than buyers have entered the market so far this spring, causing inventory to rise. Buyers now have more negotiating power than in recent springs, prompting about 25% of sellers to cut their price — a record high for April in Zillow's data.

Buyers will have the best shot at being the only bidder on their dream home in the Sun Belt. Of 14 major metro areas with fewer engaged home shoppers per listing than the national average, 12 are in the Sun Belt. The other two are Salt Lake City and Riverside. Buyers have the least competition in Miami, where there are only 2.6 engaged home shoppers per listing.

Five least competitive markets

1. Miami

2. Houston

3. New Orleans

4. Memphis

5. San Antonio

In markets like Miami, where sellers are competing to attract the attention of relatively few engaged home shoppers, maximizing eyeballs on a listing is crucial. When sellers list a home on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) — making it freely available to all buyers and agents — it typically sells for 1.5% more than homes sold off of the MLS. Zillow survey data shows that almost 91% of buyers believe they should be able to see all listings for free, without barriers. This is especially important for buyers in markets that have far more shoppers than listings, like Buffalo and Boston.

As mortgage rates continue to fluctuate, quickly knowing which homes are within a buyer's budget can be a competitive advantage, especially in fast-moving markets. Zillow Home Loans' BuyAbility℠ tool gives buyers a personalized, real-time estimate of the home price and monthly payment that fit within their budget, and it now quickly and clearly shows home shoppers the listings within their BuyAbility. If mortgage rates fall, more homes for sale may appear within a buyer's search on Zillow.