Spring inventory rises every year, so the seasonal bump alone tells you little; rates are the swing factor. Nobody can promise where prices go, so take the framework instead of a call. More homes come to market every spring because that is the normal pattern, and by itself the bump is usually modest. Rates cut both ways on supply and demand. If rates ease, demand returns: first-time buyers who can suddenly qualify, plus people who were on the fence about moving. Easing rates also unlock some would-be sellers, so you get more buyers and more sellers at once. If rates push higher instead, more owners stay locked into their low existing rate and simply do not list, which shrinks supply, and the listings that remain skew toward necessity-driven sellers. Put that together and in a stable-rate environment the base case is prices moving mostly sideways for a while. Breaking out of that in either direction takes something that floods the market with inventory relative to buyers, or something that meaningfully improves affordability. So watch months of supply and affordability rather than the calendar, and if you are deciding whether to buy, base it on whether the payment and timing work for you rather than on guessing the spring.