The Market Is Shifting Back Toward Normal
According to Redfin data cited by the Wall Street Journal, sellers included concessions in 46.2% of home sales in May 2026 – up from 43.1% a year earlier. That’s nearly half of all transactions. If you’re a buyer sitting on the sidelines waiting for rates to drop, this is worth paying attention to.
The market is moving. Not dramatically, not overnight – but the seller’s market that defined the last few years is losing steam. And buyers who understand how to use that shift have a real advantage right now.
How to Read the Market Before You Make an Offer
In my career in mortgage lending, the single most reliable indicator of where the market stands is average days on market. It cuts through the noise faster than anything else.
Here’s the framework I use:
- 30 days or less on market: sellers hold the cards. Expect competition, full price offers, and little room for negotiation.
- Around 60 days: that’s a normal, balanced market. Both sides have some leverage.
- 90 days or more: you’re in buyer’s market territory. Sellers are feeling it, and concessions become a real part of the conversation.
We just came out of one of the most heated seller’s markets in recent memory – where homes were flying off in days and buyers were waiving inspections just to compete. Full price and above-list-price cash offers were flooding the market, pushing out buyers with financing contingencies who simply couldn’t keep up. Sellers had zero incentive to give an inch – no concessions, no credits, no repairs. That’s over. Most markets are working their way back toward that 60-day normal. That’s good news if you’re buying.
A Price Cut vs. a Seller Concession – Which Actually Helps You More?
This is where a lot of buyers get it wrong. They negotiate hard for a lower purchase price when a seller credit might actually put more money in their pocket.
Here’s why, especially for first-time buyers.
A $10,000 price reduction lowers your loan amount slightly and reduces your monthly payment by a small amount – we’re talking maybe $50 to $60 a month depending on your rate. Helpful, but modest.
A $10,000 seller concession applied toward your closing costs and prepaids reduces your cash to close by that full amount. For a first-time buyer who has scraped together a down payment and is stretched thin on cash, that $10,000 is the difference between being able to close and not being able to close.
Seller concessions can also be used to cover repairs or updates the buyer plans to make after moving in – replacing a worn roof, updating an outdated kitchen, replacing carpet. That’s money the buyer would have had to come up with out of pocket on top of everything else. Getting the seller to contribute toward that as part of the deal is a legitimate and increasingly common negotiating strategy.
Before you make an offer, run your real numbers. The Total Mortgage Payment and Cash to Close calculator at YourMortgageToolbox.com can show you exactly how a seller credit changes your cash to close compared to a straight price reduction. The difference is often eye-opening.
What a Stale Listing Is Actually Telling You
A house that has been on the market for 60, 90 days or longer sends a signal. But not always the same one.
The first possibility is simple: it’s overpriced. The seller has set a number the market doesn’t agree with and hasn’t been willing to move. In that case, you’re unlikely to get meaningful concessions – a seller who won’t budge on price usually won’t budge on much else either. You may end up paying top dollar if you want the house.
The second possibility is the one that should make you slow down: something about the property itself is keeping buyers away. Maybe it’s an outdated kitchen in a neighborhood where buyers expect move-in ready. Maybe it’s a roof that inspectors keep flagging. Maybe there’s a drainage issue that keeps showing up on reports.
A long days-on-market number is not automatically a deal. It’s a reason to look harder before you get attached to the house. Get your inspection done thoroughly, pull the history, and understand what you’re buying before you start negotiating.
If the house checks out and the stale listing is just a pricing problem, that’s where your leverage lives. Use it. Sellers who have been watching buyers walk past their home for three months are having a different conversation with their agent than they were on day one.
If You’re Selling, Understand What the Market Is Telling You
Concessions aren’t just a buyer’s story. If you’re on the sell side, the data is a clear signal: buyers have more options, they’re taking longer to decide, and they’re negotiating harder. Realistic pricing from the start is what gets your home sold. An overpriced listing that sits for 90 days and eventually sells for less than a properly priced listing would have – with a concession on top – is a losing strategy.
The Net Proceeds from Sale calculator at YourMortgageToolbox.com can help you model what you’ll actually walk away with after concessions, commissions, and closing costs at different price points. Running those numbers before you list is a smarter starting point than anchoring on a price and hoping the market catches up.
Know Your Numbers Before You Negotiate
Whether you’re buying or selling, negotiation without math is guesswork. A seller credit sounds great until you realize the lender has a cap on how much the seller can contribute based on your loan type and down payment. A price reduction sounds meaningful until you see how little it moves your monthly payment.
Run the real numbers first. The mortgage calculators at YourMortgageToolbox.com are built for exactly this – showing you what a deal actually looks like in dollars and cents before you sign anything.