Sellers Who Can't Pull Their Listing Are Under Pressure to Cut Prices and Chip In
Sellers who have the option to pull their listing off the market are generally doing so. Those who don't are under increased pressure to lower their asking price and to kick in thousands of dollars toward a buyer's costs, real estate agents say.
The backdrop is the cost of borrowing: after briefly dipping below 6% in February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose as high as 7.4%, its highest level in nearly three years, and that climb has stifled U.S. home sales.
The interesting shift is where the money moves. A lower asking price is public and legible; a credit toward a buyer's costs is quieter, and it is the concession agents describe sellers being pressed to offer alongside the cut.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
Jake Krimmel's line about buyers gaining leverage at sellers' expense is the honest version of a “buyers' market.” Leverage is just a polite word for who is waiting whom out.
The waiting is lopsided, though. Sellers who can withdraw generally do, and the upward march in rates has stifled sales — so the people still at the table are the ones who couldn't walk away.