The U.S. housing market is increasingly favoring buyers, with more than one in five home sellers cutting their asking prices in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, the highest share for this time of year since Redfin began tracking the measure in 2022, Fortune reports.
Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, Denver had the highest share of active listings with price cuts at 30.9%, followed by Indianapolis, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, while San Francisco had the lowest at 9.6%, amid strong demand from highly paid AI workers.
Redfin estimates sellers outnumbered buyers by 58% in August, the widest gap in records dating to 2013, although some would-be sellers are delaying listings, withdrawing homes rather than accept lower offers or pricing more realistically from the start. Still, the shift toward buyers does not necessarily mean housing has become broadly affordable.
Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant notes that inventory remains tight and prices are near record highs in many local markets, while the average 30-year mortgage rate reached 7.28% as of Oct. 1, its highest level since November 2023 and up from 6.34% a year earlier. Lower asking prices and higher borrowing costs may also give an advantage to buyers who can pay cash. UC San Diego research found cash buyers pay about 10% less on average than mortgage buyers because sellers value the certainty of avoiding financing problems.
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