According to the Realtor.com September Monthly Housing Trends report, nearly one in five houses witnessed a price decrease in September as buyers gained more negotiating leverage due to increased inventory. Lower- and mid-tier property sellers are most likely to change their asking price, but luxury home prices often stay the same and price reductions are least frequent at the top of the market.
“September’s trends show a housing market increasingly tilting in buyers’ favor, with a rising inventory of homes for sale, longer days on market and more competitive pricing,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com. “At the same time, a Realtor.com analysis of seasonal trends shows the week of October 12–18 offers a particularly good window for buyers. While market power varies across regions and price tiers, reflecting economic conditions, in many areas momentum is lining up with seasonal price cuts and other advantages, which will make this fall particularly buyer-friendly relative to recent years.”
About 19.9% of postings saw price decreases in September, which was steady from the previous month and up 1.2 percentage points from the previous year. While lower- and mid-tier properties continue to drive price reductions across many regions, luxury listings experienced the fewest drops, indicating more patient sellers. Only 13.3% of listings costing more than $1 million experienced price reductions, while the largest percentage, 21.6%, occurred for homes priced between $350,000 and $500,000.
| List Price Tier | Share of Listings | Share with a Price Cut |
| Under $350k | 39.8 % | 20.8 % |
| $350k-$500k | 22.2 % | 21.6 % |
| $500k-$750k | 18.3 % | 21.1 % |
| $750k-$1M | 8.1 % | 18.3 % |
| Over $1M | 11.5 % | 13.3 % |
| Overall: | 19.9 % |
Price reductions in September varied significantly by region, with the Northeast having the lowest number of listings at 14.0%, while the Midwest, West, and South had 19.2%, 20.9%, and 21.1% price reductions, respectively. Price reductions were most common in metro areas with slower demand, such as Portland, Oregon (30.2%), Denver (30.7%), and Indianapolis (29.7%).
Home buyers had more alternatives in September as active inventory increased 17.0% over the same month last year, maintaining the number of available houses above 1 million for the fifth consecutive month and the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year growth. Since the summer high, however, growth has decreased, falling from 31.5% in May to 28.9% in June, 24.8% in July, and 20.9% in August. National inventory is still 13.9% below average 2017–2019 levels, despite general improvements, suggesting that the housing supply rebound has stopped.
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