There is no single national answer, and the shift may already have happened where you live. "The market" is really thousands of local markets sitting at different points at any given moment. Some areas already read as buyer-friendly or at least balanced, while others (much of the Northeast, classically) stay firmly seller-controlled with very low inventory. What tips any market toward buyers is the same balance everywhere: inventory versus buyer demand. When rates run higher, demand cools and more owners decide to list, so inventory builds and buyers gain real room even in areas that are not fully "buyer's markets" yet. The shift only continues if sellers cooperate by pricing to the market. When they hold out for yesterday's number, homes just sit, and you get slow sales instead of a genuine handoff of leverage. We can't promise a timeline. Watch two local numbers instead: months of inventory and days on market in your specific area. They will show you the shift as it happens, well before any national headline calls it.