SEATTLE, September 18 — Sellers outnumbered buyers by 58% in August, the widest gap in more than a decade, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. The bottom line for anyone shopping right now: more choice, more leverage, and a market that is finally tilting away from the seller. The shift does not mean home prices are about to crash.
After years of soaring prices, buyers may be getting some relief, but the adjustment is showing up in how sellers price and negotiate rather than in a broad collapse in values.
Sellers adjust, buyers gain room
Matt Frankel, a contributing real estate analyst at The Motley Fool, said the change is visible in the way deals are being structured. “You’re seeing a lot more incentives being offered. You’re seeing more sellers willing to pay closing costs, for example, or to offer concessions at the end,” Frankel said.
He contrasted that with the bidding-war era, when buyers “had to pretty much take what was available.” By the numbers, the pricing data backs up the shift. The median listing price this summer was down 2.4% compared to last July.
Less than 40% of homes currently on sale have seen a price cut, compared to 54% last year. Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, said the movement reflects a change in seller behavior, not desperation. “When sellers listed their homes for slightly less this year than last, it wasn’t because they were cutting.
It was because they were listing more realistically from the beginning,” he said. “That resulted in fewer homes seeing price cuts, fewer homes being so called ‘on sale.’” Realtor.com experts describe sellers as “getting real,” pricing lower upfront so fewer homes need reductions later.
Affordability still bites
Affordability remains a major challenge. Buyers may have more homes to choose from due to higher inventory, and they may even see slight price reductions in their market, but high mortgage rates continue to squeeze budgets. Rates topped 7% this week for the first time in more than a year, a timing problem for a fall season that can otherwise be a good window to buy.
Chrissy Bernal, of Texas, is navigating both sides of today’s housing market — buying and selling. “We’ve looked at probably 20 homes and that is not an exaggeration,” she said.
Selling hasn’t been simple either. “The offers we got in were ridiculous, like half of the house’s value.” Her advice for buyers navigating the uncertainty: stay flexible and stay optimistic. “Our phrase is ‘this or something better,’” Bernal said.
Investors will note that the story was reported by Emily Hanford-Ostmann and Maura Barrett. A related story noted that US home sales weakened to their slowest pace in more than a year as mortgage rates and home prices climbed.
Another related interactive story reported that home insurance deductibles may have quietly increased.
What to watch
The figure that matters going forward is whether the seller-buyer gap holds as mortgage rates stay elevated. More inventory and realistic pricing give buyers room, but the cost of borrowing remains the constraint that could keep the market slow.
