Nearly 1 in 5 Sellers Are Cutting Prices. Buyers Still Aren’t Biting.
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For the past few years, sellers have had one major advantage:
There simply were not enough homes for sale.
That made it easier to hold firm on price, wait for stronger offers, and assume another buyer would eventually appear.
That advantage is beginning to weaken.
Price reductions are becoming more common, while mortgage rates have climbed back into the mid-7% range. Freddie Mac’s latest survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.40%, the highest level in roughly three years. Taiwan News
The result is an uncomfortable combination:
More sellers are willing to negotiate, but many buyers still cannot make the numbers work.
A Price Cut Does Not Automatically Fix Affordability
A seller may reduce a listing by $10,000 or $20,000 and feel like they have made a major concession.
The buyer is looking at something different:
The monthly payment.
At today’s borrowing costs, even a meaningful reduction in purchase price may only modestly change that monthly number.
That is why buyers can have more negotiating leverage without actually feeling wealthier.
They may be able to negotiate the house.
They still have to qualify for the loan.
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Buyers Are Becoming More Selective
Higher rates do not mean everyone stops buying.
They do mean buyers become less forgiving.
A property that feels overpriced is easier to skip when financing is already expensive.
Homes needing significant repairs become harder to justify.
And buyers who previously stretched their budgets may simply move down in price—or remain renters longer.
Pending home sales remain subdued as well. NAR reported that August contract signings were still below the previous year and roughly 30% below pre-pandemic norms, despite some month-to-month improvement. National Association of REALTORS®
That suggests the issue is not a complete lack of interest.
It is hesitation.
Sellers May Need to Compete Differently
This environment could force sellers to think beyond asking price.
A slightly lower price may help.
But depending on the buyer, seller-paid closing costs, repair credits, or a mortgage-rate buydown may have a more noticeable effect on affordability.
That creates a different job for agents.
Instead of simply answering:
“What is this house worth?”
the better question may be:
“What structure actually gets this buyer comfortable enough to close?”
That could include price.
It could also include concessions.
And increasingly, it may require both.
The Market Is Becoming More Negotiable
This is the strange part of the current housing market.
Buyers have more choices and more negotiating power than they did during the frenzy of a few years ago.
At the same time, affordability remains extremely difficult. Recent analysis suggests that at current home prices and mortgage rates, the income needed to comfortably afford a typical home remains far above the median household income. Business Insider
So this is not a classic buyer’s market.
It is closer to a market where sellers have less power, but buyers still lack purchasing power.
That distinction matters.
The Takeaway
Sellers are beginning to blink.
Buyers are not necessarily rushing through the door.
Higher mortgage rates have changed the economics enough that small price reductions may no longer create the response sellers expect.
For agents, that means pricing, financing, concessions, and monthly affordability all need to be part of the same conversation.
The listings most likely to move are increasingly the ones that make sense not just on paper—but in the buyer’s monthly budget.
More negotiation does not automatically mean more affordability.
And right now, understanding that difference may be one of the most important skills an agent can bring to the table.
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This article is for general educational purposes.