In the US, 21% of home listings had price cuts in September — Fortune

In the United States, the share of home listings in which the initial price was reduced in September reached 21%, the highest level in four years. The median listed home price in the country fell by 1.2% year-on-year that month to $419,250, Fortune reports, citing Realtor.com.

The real estate market has slowed due to higher mortgage rates, the effects of years of rising home prices, and high inflation. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage, after briefly falling below 6% in February, rose to 7.4% in October, its highest level in nearly three years.

The advantage is shifting to buyers

Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial, said market dynamics have shifted toward buyers. According to him, sellers are increasingly having to cut prices, offer concessions, or wait longer to close a deal.

Buyers can also demand that sellers provide funds to cover closing costs or to lower the mortgage rate for a certain period or for the entire loan term. Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel called this a sign of buyers’ growing bargaining power.

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According to Redfin estimates, in the 50 largest US metropolitan areas last month, there were approximately 63% more sellers than buyers. The number of buyers, about 929,000, was the lowest since records began in 2013, while the number of sellers was the highest since 2020.

Sellers are postponing life plans

Liz Suter, a resident of Murphy, Texas, listed her four-bedroom home for sale in April 2025 for $750,000. After several price cuts, she removed the listing after six months and put the house back on the market in February for $725,000. Eventually, a buyer agreed to purchase it for $650,000, and Suter additionally offered $9,000 for repairs.

Rick Ganga of Blaine, Washington, lowered the price of his home from $825,000 to less than $800,000 but received no offers. He needs to sell because of a divorce and a job transfer to another state. At the same time, he is not ready for a more substantial reduction because he has owned the house only since 2022.

Another seller, Ethan Butner of Troutdale, Oregon, reduced the asking price of his home by $30,000 to $480,000. The only offer he received fell through, despite installing a new water heater and dishwasher and replacing the flooring. He needs the sale to buy a larger home for his family near Portland.