Buyers have the power, and the data on where to use it is now clearer than ever
More than one in five active home listings in the United States recorded a price reduction in the four weeks ending September 20, the highest share for that time of year in Redfin's records dating back to 2022.
Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket, found that 21.1% of sellers trimmed their asking price during the period, up from 19.8% a year earlier, as elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continued to squeeze buyer demand.
The modest year-over-year increase obscures a more significant dynamic. In several major markets, sellers are pricing realistically from the outset, compressing visible post-listing cuts even as buyer leverage reaches historically high levels.
The data, drawn from MLS records for the rolling four-week period ending September 20 and compared seasonally to prior years, shows buyer power asserting itself earlier in the listing cycle.
"Those who sell their homes quickly are the ones who are getting savvier about pricing right from day one," said Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin.
"Sellers who price too high may be working off outdated comps, or feel overly optimistic about the chance of sparking a bidding war, despite data that says it's unlikely. Many are eventually cutting their price as they come to terms with reality: Mortgage rates are sitting above 7%, the economy is uncertain, and many homes are lingering on the market."
The trend aligns with a broader market shift with seller concessions reaching record highs in a deepening US buyer's market. Nearly half of all national transactions now include repair credits, closing cost contributions, or mortgage-rate buydowns.
Denver leads as Texas metros cluster near the top
Denver recorded the highest rate of price cuts in the country, with 30.9% of sellers reducing their asking price, followed by Indianapolis at 29.9%.
San Antonio (26.8%), Dallas (26.6%), and Austin (26.1%) round out the top five.
Those three Texas metros rank among the nation's most buyer-tilted markets, where active sellers outnumber buyers by a factor of more than two to one — conditions that make price reductions a routine necessity to compete.
San Francisco sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, with fewer than 10% of sellers trimming their price, the lowest rate nationally. The city remains one of just five seller's markets still functioning in the US, sustained by concentrated demand from the AI industry.
Newark, NJ (12.2%), Chicago (13.3%), New York (13.6%), and Miami (13.7%) complete the five metros with the smallest share of sellers reducing their asking prices.
What brokers should take from the data
For mortgage professionals, the flattening national price cut rate is not evidence that buyers are losing ground. With homebuyers seeing discounts surge across the cooling US housing market, sellers are recalibrating expectations before listing — meaning negotiating room still exists, it just surfaces at the initial asking price rather than in post-listing markdowns.
"Today's buyers have enough options that they can afford to be picky, so it's critical for sellers to price correctly and attract buyers from the get-go," said Chandra Gordon, a Redfin Premier agent in Seattle, where 24.3% of sellers are currently cutting prices, above the national average.
"But I meet a lot of sellers whose instinct is to do the opposite. They'll say, 'let's price higher so we have room to negotiate down.' I understand the reasoning, but overpricing a home is a fast way to deter buyers. Pricing in line with the market from day one is the best way for sellers to meet buyers where they are, rather than watch their listing go stale."
Brokers counseling buyer clients in Denver, Indianapolis, or the Texas metros have meaningful negotiating room, including below-ask offers on homes sitting more than a month, and concession requests covering repairs, closing costs, or rate buydowns.
For those advising sellers in those same markets, resetting expectations early is the clearest path to a clean close. With the housing market forecast to show slow, steady gains through 2026 according to First American, pricing discipline on both sides of the transaction will determine who moves inventory and who watches listings go stale.
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