Homebuyers

Home Sellers Are Pricing More Realistically. Here’s How Homebuyers Can Benefit

Homebuyers may be gaining negotiating leverage before they even make an offer.

Home sellers are listing their properties at more realistic prices this summer instead of starting high and waiting weeks for the market to correct them. Nationally, the median asking price was 2.4% lower in July than it was a year earlier, according to a new Realtor.com analysis.

At the same time, fewer listings have needed price reductions. Less than 40% of homes for sale in July had received a price cut, down from 54% a year earlier.

“Last year, sellers were still pricing for the market they remembered, not the one buyers were actually facing,” said Realtor.com Senior Economist Jake Krimmel in a statement. “This summer, they’ve been more realistic from day one.”

For homebuyers, the shift may mean finding homes priced closer to their market value from the start. It may also indicate greater flexibility once negotiations begin.

Lower asking prices may matter more than price cuts

A decline in the number of price cuts may not sound like good news for homebuyers. Yet fewer reductions can signal that home sellers are setting more realistic asking prices when they list.

Last summer, many home sellers started with higher expectations, then reduced their prices repeatedly when offers did not arrive. About 17.9% of active listings had received at least three price cuts by July 2025.

The share fell to 8.6% in July 2026. Asking prices also remained relatively flat from May through July instead of rising during the summer selling season.

Homebuyers should review a property’s listing history and recent comparable sales with their real estate agent. A home without a price cut may already reflect softer local conditions, while a home that has lingered on the market may still offer room to negotiate.

A lender can calculate how the asking price and any negotiated reduction would affect the down payment, mortgage amount, and estimated monthly payment.

Home sellers are adjusting sooner

When a home is priced too high, sellers are responding faster.

The typical seller made the first price reduction after 34 days on the market in July. Sellers lowered their prices three to four days sooner than they did a year earlier in every region.

The median cumulative price reduction was also smaller. Sellers reduced asking prices by a total of 5% in July, down from 6.3% a year earlier.

Smaller reductions do not necessarily mean homebuyers have lost leverage. The pattern suggests that properties are beginning closer to what the market will support and that sellers are responding more quickly when they miss the mark.

Homebuyers considering a property that has been listed for about a month may want to ask their real estate agent whether the seller has reduced the price, received offers, or shown other signs of flexibility.

Negotiating leverage depends on the local housing market

The shift toward homebuyers is widespread, but its strength varies by location.

Of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, 70 were already buyer-friendly or moving in that direction during the second quarter, according to Realtor.com’s Market Clock report. That was up from 52 metros a year earlier and 37 in 2019.

Nashville, Tenn., was classified as a buyer’s market, where homebuyers may have greater negotiating leverage. Knoxville, Tenn., remained balanced but was moving in a homebuyer-friendly direction.

“Buyers can know that generally sellers are offering improved pricing this year and are adjusting to market signals more quickly,” said Krimmel. “The amount of negotiating leverage buyers may enjoy varies based on local conditions.”

Six large metros still had more than half of their active listings priced below their original asking price in July: Tampa, Fla.; Austin, Texas; Dallas; Denver; Phoenix; and San Antonio, Texas.

Homebuyers in markets with more available homes and longer market times may be able to request a lower price, seller assistance with closing costs, repairs, or a mortgage rate buydown. Those in more competitive markets may need to focus on homes that have been listed longer or returned to the market.

Better pricing is helping more transactions move forward

More realistic pricing appears to be helping homebuyers and sellers reach agreements.

Contract signings from May through July increased 1.8% from the same period in 2025. The three-month period produced the largest number of contract signings since 2022, although activity remained about 9% below that year’s level.

Fewer home sellers also withdrew their properties from the market. Delistings were 8.3% lower than a year earlier in June and 4.7% lower in July.

For homebuyers, sellers staying in the market may preserve more options as the fall homebuying season approaches. A mortgage pre-approval and a clear understanding of local conditions can help shoppers move quickly when the right property and price appear.