More than 1 in 5 homesellers with a listing on the market cut their asking price in September, pushing home price cuts to the highest rate for the month in years.
Separate reports from Redfin and Realtor.com released this week show home price cuts climbing as mortgage rates above 7 percent thin the buyer pool and inventory builds.
Redfin found that 21.1 percent of U.S. sellers with active listings dropped their asking price during the four weeks ending Sept. 20, up from 19.8 percent a year earlier. The share is the highest for that stretch of the year in Redfin’s records, which date to the start of 2022, according to the company’s analysis of MLS data.
Realtor.com’s September housing report put the share of listings with price cuts at 20.8 percent, up 0.9 percentage points year over year. That marks the highest September rate since 2018 and the highest for any month since October 2022, according to the report. It is also the first time this year the price-cut share has topped 2025 levels.
Sellers adjust pricing before listing
Redfin attributed the modest annual increase to seller behavior in what it called the strongest buyer’s market on record. Some homeowners are holding off on listing, some are delisting rather than accepting a lower price and others are pricing to current conditions from the start, according to the report.
Asad Khan
“Those who sell their homes quickly are the ones who are getting savvier about pricing right from Day One,” Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan said in the report. “Sellers who price too high may be working off outdated comps, or feel overly optimistic about the chance of sparking a bidding war, despite data that says it’s unlikely. Many are eventually cutting their price as they come to terms with reality: Mortgage rates are sitting above 7 percent, the economy is uncertain, and many homes are lingering on the market.”
Denver ranks near the top in both reports
Redfin placed Denver first at 30.9 percent, followed by Indianapolis at 29.9 percent and three Texas metros: San Antonio at 26.8 percent, Dallas at 26.6 percent and Austin, Texas, at 26.1 percent.
Realtor.com ranked Salt Lake City first, with one-third of active listings carrying a price cut, followed by Denver at 31.5 percent and Portland, Oregon, at 31.3 percent.
Home price cuts rise fastest in the West
The West posted the largest annual increase of any region in Realtor.com’s data, with price cuts rising 1.8 percentage points to 22.8 percent. The South followed at 21.8 percent, then the Midwest at 20.7 percent and the Northeast at 15.2 percent.
Thirty-six of the 50 largest metros are running above their year-ago price-cut shares, according to the report. The national delisting rate held at 5.6 percent.
San Francisco records fewest price cuts
San Francisco had the smallest share of sellers cutting prices in Redfin’s analysis at 9.6 percent. Redfin identified the metro as one of five seller’s markets in the country, with AI wealth driving buyer competition. Newark, New Jersey, followed at 12.2 percent, then Chicago at 13.3 percent, New York at 13.6 percent and Miami at 13.7 percent.
By the numbers
- 21.1 percent: Share of U.S. sellers who cut their asking price in the four weeks ending Sept. 20 (Redfin)
- 19.8 percent: Share of sellers who cut their price in the same period a year earlier (Redfin)
- 20.8 percent: Share of listings with a price cut in September (Realtor.com)
- 2018: Last year the September price-cut rate was this high (Realtor.com)
- 30.9 percent: Share of Denver sellers who cut their price, the highest among the 50 largest metros (Redfin)
- 9.6 percent: Share of San Francisco sellers who cut their price, the lowest among the 50 largest metros (Redfin)
- 36: Number of the 50 largest metros running above year-ago price-cut shares (Realtor.com)
- 5.6 percent: National delisting rate in September (Realtor.com)
