Sellers may need to rethink their pricing strategies. With mortgage rates still elevated and buyers growing more cautious, overly optimistic listing prices are keeping homes on the market far longer than expected, The Wall Street Journal writes.
Economists say many sellers are anchoring to memories of the red-hot 2020–2022 market, when neighbors saw bidding wars and fast closings. Today’s buyers aren’t playing that game.
Industry data shows just over 20% of active listings in October had a price cut—about double the share during the pandemic boom. And cutting later comes at a cost: Homes that undergo reductions spend roughly five times longer on the market than listings priced correctly from day one. Nearly 57% of homes sold this year had at least one price cut.
Buyers, meanwhile, are regaining leverage—from negotiating below asking to insisting on inspections. Markets with swelling inventory, such as parts of Texas and South Florida, are also seeing more delistings as sellers wait for better days.
