You’re scrolling through listings on your phone and everything looks good until you see the price (or the estimated monthly payment). Then you close the app.
Because even if you love the house, the numbers feel impossible. But here’s the thing.
Nationally, there are more homes sitting on the market than there are people out there looking. And when sellers need buyers more than buyers need sellers, that shows up in the price.
Lower asking prices. More price cuts. And homes priced for what buyers can actually afford – not what sellers hope someone might pay.
And it may be enough to make buying more doable than you’d think.
4 Out of 10 Sellers Are Cutting Their Price
One of the clearest signs sellers are adjusting? Price cuts. HousingWire Data shows more than 40% of sellers are dropping this price.
That’s just slightly behind the volume we saw last year (see graph below):
That’s more than 4 out of every 10 homes listed. Think about what that means. That’s thousands of sellers deciding they’d rather lower their asking price than keep waiting for someone willing to stretch their budget.
They know that to sell, they have to be willing to do some give and take. And when no buyers are biting, they’re pulling their biggest lever to draw buyers back in – their price. As Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, explains:
“This is a market where people are adjusting and showing up rather than giving up. Sellers are meeting the market with more realistic asking prices, which is helping deals get done.”
This July Saw the Lowest Median List Price for Any July in Five Years
What about the other 6 in 10 sellers? A lot of them started with a lower asking price to begin with rather than test the higher price and get crickets from buyers.
That may be why July 2026 had the lowest median list price of any July in the past five years, according to Realtor.com (see the white line in the graph below):
Now, that doesn’t mean home values are falling or that everything’s suddenly a steal. Prices are still above where they were before the pandemic. But what it does mean is this.
Sellers no longer banking on bidding wars or expecting buyers to pay whatever they ask. Instead, many are listing at prices that better reflect today’s market from the very beginning.
And honestly, whether they’re pricing competitively from day one or adjusting after a few weeks on the market, the message for you is the same:
Sellers are more willing to meet you where you’re at.
Because in many markets throughout the country, you’re not fighting over a house anymore. Sellers are fighting over you. And that’s information you can use to get a better deal.
Yes, affordability can be a real challenge. And the monthly payment you take on definitely does matter. But if you’ve been assuming everything is out of budget, there may be more wiggle room than you think.
Bottom Line
Right now, sellers are flexible on the price in ways they weren’t before. Reach out to a local agent to take advantage of that flexibility.
You may be surprised by what’s available – and how willing today’s sellers are to work with buyers.
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