THE ANGELS — Owners eager to sell their households in USA they are lowering their prices to attract buyers when spring arrives, the preferred season for those interested in buying homes.
About 14.6% of homes offered last month had their prices lowered, according to Realtor.com, up from 13.2% last year, the first annual increase since May. In January, 14.7% of homes were offered on the market at a discounted price.
The share of homes offered at a discounted price is slightly higher than the monthly average, with data dating back to January 2017.
That trend bodes well for those aspiring to buy a home in a market that remains unaffordable for many Americans. The chronic deficiency in the supply of homes for sale raises prices in general, while sales have fallen in the last two years.
“Sellers cut prices, but that just means they make smaller profits than we would otherwise see,” explained Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
The increase in the share of homes offered at a discounted price is a sign that the sector’s market is returning to a more balanced dynamic between buyers and sellers.. The rock-bottom mortgage rates of the first two years of the pandemic gave buyers greater purchasing power, fueling buyer wars and raising the median sales price of previously occupied homes by 42% between 2020 and 2022.
“The price reductions essentially indicate a much greater normality in the housing market than in the last couple of years,” Hale said.
The proportion of properties that reduced their prices peaked at 21.7% in October 2018, and was 21.5% in October 2022.
Last year, the percentage of discount offers rose to 18.9% in October, while the average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 7.79%, the highest in 23 years, according to Freddie Mac.
Source: With information from AP
