A market tilted toward buyers
Selling a home quickly and above the asking price, once a safe assumption in the United States, no longer holds. A sluggish market has left many owners unable to move for a new job, upsize for a growing family or complete other life plans that depend on a sale. Those who can withdraw their listings generally do; those who cannot face growing pressure to trim prices and contribute thousands of dollars to a buyer's expenses, according to real estate agents.[S1][S2]
The reversal is sharp compared with the start of the decade, when unusually low mortgage rates drove a buying surge that pushed prices far above asking. Today the market is constrained by climbing mortgage rates, the cumulative effect of years of price growth and an economic outlook clouded by high inflation. Those forces place homeownership beyond many buyers' reach, while others postpone purchases in the hope of better conditions, possibly in the spring.[S1]
Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial, described the shift as a move back toward buyers' markets rather than sellers' markets. In that environment, he said, a seller may need to lower the price, offer a concession to complete a sale, or accept a longer time on the market.[S1]
One seller's year-long wait
Liz Suder, who is 56, chose to put her Murphy, Texas home on the market and downsize after her three kids moved out. The property, located about 20 miles from Dallas, has four bedrooms and 3.5 baths. She explained that she listed it before starting to look for a new place so she wouldn't have to pay two mortgages at once. The finance director had held the home for 21 years.[S1]
Suder listed the home in April 2025 at $750,000. Six months later, after several price reductions, it remained unsold and she removed it from the market. She relisted in February at $725,000 ahead of the spring season, and a shopper eventually agreed to pay $650,000. Suder added $9,000 toward repairs to help the deal close. She said she had never expected the process to take a full year or to require such a large reduction.[S1]
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Rates, listings and leverage
The typical 30-year mortgage rate dipped under 6% in February but then rose to 7.4% this month, the highest in almost three years. That increase has dampened US home sales. With more sellers cutting their asking prices, Realtor.com reported the national median listing price fell 1.2% year over year in September to $419,250, marking an 11th straight annual drop. Roughly 21% of September listings had already had a price reduction, the most in four years.[S1]
Buyers frequently ask sellers to cover closing costs, and sellers often agree. With mortgage rates high, buyers can also push sellers for funds that bring down their rate for several years or for the entire loan term, reducing overall borrowing expenses. A Redfin analysis found that in the 50 largest US metro areas last month, sellers outnumbered buyers by roughly 63%. Buyers totaled about 929,000, the lowest figure since records began in 2013, while seller counts hit their highest since 2020.[S1]
Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, said the imbalance reflects the current state of the market, with buyers gaining leverage at sellers' expense and sellers doing more to meet buyers halfway.[S1]
