Nearly half of home sellers are now offering incentives to unload their properties—even $20,000 in concessions and all-expenses-paid cruises
“If we were to quantify all these concessions…we would see that home prices are down, and people are getting better deals,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said.
In August, nearly half of home sellers in the United States offered incentives to potential buyers, according to Redfin data. This 2.1 percentage-point increase from the previous year marks the highest share since at least 2020. Home sellers are resorting to creative incentives to compete in the strong buyer's market, where sellers outnumber buyers by 58%. The report found that 44.7% of home sales included concessions, such as mortgage rate buy-downs, repairs, household appliances, or even all-expenses-paid cruises.
The cities with the most concessions include Atlanta and Charlotte, both in the Sun Belt region which has experienced a surge in post-pandemic construction catering to remote workers seeking lower mortgage rates. Atlanta stands out as the city with the highest prevalence of concessions, with 72.8% of homebuying deals including incentives.
On the other hand, the Bay Area and New York have the lowest share of concessions, with New York observing only 5.7% of sales coming with incentives. These major metropolitan areas have strong housing markets, with wealthy buyers keeping housing supplies low.
The buyer's market is expected to continue as long as inflation remains high and concerns about an AI bubble persist. The Federal Reserve's recent rate hikes, as well as other macroeconomic events, could also impact the market. However, a significant long-term factor supporting the buyer's advantage is the eventual sale of homes by baby boomers, who currently account for about 42% of purchases and 52% of sales.
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