Something changed this summer that gave home buyers more negotiating power.
As of August, sellers outnumbered buyers by 58% — the biggest gap in more than a decade, according to Redfin. That doesn't mean home prices are about to crash, but after years of soaring prices, buyers may finally be getting some relief.
"It used to be that if you wanted a house, you had to pretty much take what was available. What you could win the bidding war for," said Matt Frankel, a contributing real estate analyst at The Motley Fool.
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Rather than prices taking a plunge, Frankel said sellers have adjusted their pricing strategies.
"You're seeing a lot more incentives being offered. You're seeing more sellers willing to pay closing costs, for example, or to offer concessions at the end," Frankel said.
Experts with Realtor.com say sellers are "getting real," pricing lower upfront so fewer homes need price cuts. The median listing price this summer was down 2.4% compared to last July. Less than 40% of homes currently on sale have seen a price cut, compared to 54% last year.
Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, explains that the price movement reflects a change in seller behavior, not desperation.
"When sellers listed their homes for slightly less this year than last, it wasn't because they were cutting. It was because they were listing more realistically from the beginning," he said. "That resulted in fewer homes seeing price cuts, fewer homes being so called 'on sale.'"
Affordability still a major challenge
Buyers may have more homes to choose from due to higher inventory. They may even see slight price reductions in their market.
"The big win is on selection," Frankel said. "There are a lot more homes on the market right now than there were a year ago."
What buyers can't escape are high mortgage rates which topped 7% this week for the first time in more than a year.
"Which is really unfortunate as far as timing goes because the fall can be a really great time to buy because more homes are lingering around the market," Krimmel said.
Chrissy Bernal, of Texas, is navigating both sides of today's housing market — buying and selling.
"We've looked at probably 20 homes and that is not an exaggeration," she said. Selling hasn't been simple either, "The offers we got in were ridiculous, like half of the house's value."
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Her advice for buyers navigating the uncertainty: stay flexible and stay optimistic.
"Our phrase is 'this or something better,'" Bernal said.
