Fewer Homes Are Selling Above Asking
Homebuyers are gaining leverage they haven’t had in years. Redfin’s latest housing market update, published September 3, 2026, found that new listings hit their highest level since August 2022 while demand stayed flat, a combination the brokerage says is handing buyers more negotiating power. Just months earlier, in a report covered by Inman, Redfin data showed only 26.4% of homes sold above list price during the four weeks ending May 3, 2026, the lowest share for that time of year in at least five years.
What Actually Changed the Math
Two forces are behind the shift, according to Redfin’s data. The first is inventory: active listings have climbed to 1,511,313, up 2.4% year-over-year, and new listings reached 383,795, an 8% jump from a year earlier. Months of supply rose to 4, up from 3.7. The second is mortgage rates staying high enough to keep some buyers on the sidelines.
Sellers Are Feeling the Shift Too
Redfin’s head of economics research, Chen Zhao, said in a company report on the market earlier this summer that while this isn’t a market where sellers can count on bidding wars, there are always some people out there who need to move. That report, published by Redfin, found the share of homes selling above list price had slipped to 28%, down from 29% a year earlier, alongside a sale-to-list price ratio of under 99%.
Buyers Are Negotiating Again
What that means in practice is straightforward: buyers who spent the pandemic years waiving inspections and offering tens of thousands over asking are increasingly able to ask sellers for concessions instead. Nearly 18.8% of active listings carried price reductions as of Redfin’s spring report. It’s not a buyer’s market everywhere, but the days of nearly every listing sparking a bidding war appear to be over for now.
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