Homes sold below their list price at the peak of the housing season, Redfin reports, a development that could shift the real estate market to the buyer’s advantage.
The typical home that sold during a four-week span in May and June went for 0.3% less than its asking price, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin.
That data point matters, housing experts say, because the market hits its annual peak in late spring and early summer. In the last few years, the average home sold at or above list price at that time of year. This year, it did not.
“It means that the housing market is starting to move to the buyer’s favor,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
Redfin found that fewer than one-third of homes – 32% – sold over list price in the four weeks ending June 23. That is the lowest quotient for late spring since 2020, when the pandemic hobbled the housing market.
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That’s good news for buyers. For sellers, not so much.
Real estate today: ‘Buyers have the power’
“Overall, what we’re seeing is that buyers have the power, and I’m actually seeing that everywhere,” said Ryan Sypek, a broker associate at Compass real estate in Los Angeles, California.
That is a change: In recent months, the housing market has been brutal for potential buyers.
Both prices and mortgage rates are up. There’s a shortage of new homes. Homeowners are reluctant to sell old ones, because most of them hold mortgages with historically low…
