44% of Home Sellers Are Giving Concessions to Buyers—Just Shy of the Highest Level on Record

• More sellers are offering concessions as rising housing costs and economic uncertainty make buyers nervous, and housing supply hits a five-year high.
• In Seattle, 71% of sellers are giving concessions–the highest rate among the metros Redfin analyzed and nearly double the share from a year ago.
• Economic jitters are also prompting some buyers to back out of deals; 13% of pending home sales were canceled in March.

Home sellers gave concessions to buyers in 44.4% of U.S. home-sale transactions in the first quarter. That’s up from 39.3% a year earlier, and is just shy of the 45.1% record high at the start of 2023.

Roughly 2 in 5 Home Sellers Give Concessions to Buyers

Share of U.S. home sales in which seller gave concession to buyer

Note: Rolling 3-month periods ending with month shown

Source: Data submitted by Redfin buyers’ agents

Download image | Created with Datawrapper

This is based on an analysis of data submitted by Redfin buyers’ agents across the country, covering rolling three-month periods from 2019 to present. A concession is recorded when an agent reports a seller provided something that helped reduce the buyer’s total cost of purchasing the home. That could include money toward repairs, closing costs and/or mortgage-rate buydowns. It does not include situations in which the seller lowered the list price of their home or negotiated a lower price with the buyer.

Sellers are increasingly handing out concessions because the housing market has tilted in favor of buyers. Homebuyer demand is sluggish due to high home prices, elevated mortgage rates, and economic uncertainty. At the same time, sellers face more competition, with listings now at a five-year high. More options mean buyers have stronger negotiating power. Redfin agents also report that many homes are overpriced, which often leads sellers to offer concessions to attract buyers.

Chaley McVay, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Portland, OR, said a majority of offers she writes include concession requests—especially for first-time buyers.

“Buyers used to ask for concessions to cover little things like repairs. Now they’re negotiating concessions so they can afford to buy a home,” McVay said. “A lot of sellers are offering money for mortgage-rate buydowns, and I recently had one seller cover seven months of HOA fees for the buyer.”

McVay continued: “Sellers are feeling nervous because many bought at the top of the market in 2021 and 2022 and will now be re-buying at a higher mortgage rate. They’re worried about net proceeds. That’s why I recommend my buyers ask for concessions instead of a lower sale price—it can be a win-win: the buyer gets a break, and the seller doesn’t have to drop their target price.”

Concessions Are Rising Most in Seattle and Portland

Seattle home sellers gave concessions in 71.3% of sales during Q1—the highest among 24 major U.S. metros Redfin analyzed. That’s nearly double the 36.4% from a year earlier, marking the largest increase.

“It’s super common to see seller concessions for condos and new-construction townhomes, but less so for single-family homes—unless they’ve been sitting on the market,” said Stephanie Kastner, a Redfin Premier agent in Seattle. “Condos are harder to sell due to high HOA fees and insurance. Builders offer concessions to keep prices high, like covering closing costs or including free appliances.”

Portland, OR saw the next biggest rise: up 14.2 points to 63.9%, the second-highest rate. Then came Los Angeles (+11 pts to 56.1%), San Jose (+10.6 pts to 16.7%), and Houston (+6.2 pts to 46%).

After Seattle and Portland, the highest concession rates are in Atlanta, San Diego, and Denver.

Housing markets across Florida and Texas have been cooling for a while, and prices are now falling in many parts of those states. Sellers in Florida and Texas have had more time to get used to a slow market, and have started pricing their homes lower from the get-go, meaning they often don’t need to offer concessions.

After New York, the lowest concession rates are in San Francisco, San Jose, Boston and Chicago.

Some Sellers Are Lowering Their Prices in Addition to Offering Concessions

Some sellers are giving out concessions and getting less money than they hoped for their homes, which can occur when a seller cuts their asking price once the home is on the market, accepts an offer below their asking price, or both.

Roughly one in five homes (21.5%) that sold during the first quarter had a final sale price below the asking price in addition to a concession, up from 18.5% a year earlier. Roughly one in six (16.2%) had a price cut and a concession, up from 13% a year earlier. And about one in ten (9.9%) had all three—a concession, a price cut, and a final sale price below the original list price. That’s up from 8% a year earlier.

Some Sellers Are Giving Concessions and Cutting Prices

Share of closed deals reported by Redfin agents that had a…

Note: Rolling 3-month periods ending with month shown

13% of Pending Home Sales Were Canceled Last Month

With economic jitters on the rise, many home purchases are also falling through at the eleventh hour.

Roughly 52,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in March, equal to 13.4% of homes that went under contract that month—up slightly from a year earlier. That’s the third highest March level in records dating back to 2017; the highest was in 2020, when the pandemic brought the housing market to a halt.