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The typical home that sold last month went for 1.4% less than its final list price—the biggest September discount in six years—as a slow housing market empowered buyers to negotiate

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2025-- Just 25.3% of U.S. homes that sold in September went for more than their final list price, down from 28.5% a year earlier and the lowest September level in six years. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.

Two other metrics that measure competition in the housing market also dropped to their lowest September levels in six years last month:

• Average sale-to-list-price ratio: This metric came in at 98.6%, down from 99.1% a year earlier. That means the typical home sold for 1.4% less than its final list price, compared with 0.9% less last September.
• Share of homes selling in two weeks: 32.8% of homes that went under contract did so within two weeks of being listed, down from 34.9% a year earlier.

A fourth metric—time on market—shows that the housing market is moving at the slowest pace for this time of year in nearly a decade. The typical home that went under contract in September sat on the market for 50 days—the slowest September pace since 2016.

The housing market is sluggish because high costs and economic uncertainty are limiting the number of people buying homes. Inventory has also ticked up, meaning the buyers who are in the market have more options and many of them can afford to take their time. There are 36.7% more home sellers in the market than buyers—a near-record gap. The good news for buyers is this means they often have an opportunity to negotiate and ask for concessions.

“Homebuyers have extremely high expectations. Some of them remember being preapproved for a 3% mortgage rate during the pandemic, which meant they could afford a $450,000 house. Now that rates, insurance costs and property taxes have gone up, they can only afford a $325,000 house, but still have $450,000 expectations,” said Roze Swartz, a Redfin Premier agent in Houston. “Sellers can’t be picky on price—if they don’t have the lowest price on the market, they’re not even going to get showings. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s better to price low from the start than price high and make a drastic cut after your home has been sitting on the market for months without any offers.”

Home Prices Post Biggest Increase in Six Months

The median home sale price rose 1.7% year over year to $435,545 in September—the biggest uptick in six months and the highest September level on record.

Home price growth was slowing during the first half of the year because inventory was rising, giving buyers more options to choose from. While buyers still have a lot more options than they had in recent years, listings have started to tick down in recent months, which has in turn pushed up sale prices. Still, as mentioned above, sellers in many markets are accepting offers for less than their list prices because buyers continue to have negotiating power.

Active listings fell 0.6% month over month to 1.96 million in September on a seasonally adjusted basis—the lowest level since February—but were still up 8% year over year. Sellers have pulled back in recent months because homebuyer demand is sluggish. Redfin agents report that some sellers are pulling their homes off the market and opting to rent them out instead if they don’t get the price they want.

Existing-Home Sales Rise to Highest Level of the Year as Mortgage Rates Decline

Existing-home sales rose 0.4% month over month and 4.5% year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.25 million in September. That’s the highest level since January and the largest year-over-year gain since December.

Total home sales rose 0.7% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis and climbed 3.4% year over year to the highest level since October 2022.

Home sales have likely inched up due to a decline in mortgage rates. Rates have been ticking down for most of 2025, and averaged 6.35% in September—the lowest level in a year.

It’s worth noting that existing home sales and total sales are backward-looking metrics and represent deals that were negotiated in months past. A more current gauge of homebuyer demand is pending home sales, which fell 1% month over month on a seasonally-adjusted basis in September and dropped 2.4% year over year—the biggest annual decline since February. Redfin agents in some markets report that while the drop in rates has brought some buyers off of the sidelines, many are waiting in hopes that rates fall further.

September 2025 Housing Market Highlights: United States

September 2025 Metro-Level Highlights

• Prices: Median sale prices rose most from a year earlier in the Midwest: Milwaukee (9.1%), Detroit (7.9%) and Cleveland (7.4%) saw the biggest increases. The biggest declines were in Texas: Dallas (-2.7%), Austin (-2.3%) and Houston (-1.5%).
• Pending home sales: Pending sales rose most in San Francisco (17.1%), Riverside, CA (11.6%) and West Palm Beach, FL (11%). They fell most in Houston (-11.7%), Denver (-8.4%) and San Antonio (-6.3%).
• Closed home sales: Home sales rose most in Providence, RI (17.1%), San Francisco (15.6%) and West Palm Beach (14.6%). They fell most in Detroit (-8.6%), Orlando, FL (-6.5%) and Nassau County, NY (-2.6%).
• New listings: New listings rose most in Detroit (11.6%), Boston (9.2%) and Pittsburgh (7.8%). They fell most in Anaheim, CA (-10.6%), San Antonio (-10.2%) and Orlando (-9.9%).
• Active listings: Active listings rose most in Washington, D.C. (21.1%), Las Vegas (20.7%) and Seattle (16.6%). They fell in just two metros: San Francisco (-7.7%) and San Jose, CA (-6%).
• Sold above list price: In San Francisco, the average sale-to-list-price ratio was 104.2%, meaning the typical home sold for 4.2% above its final list price—the biggest premium of any metro. Next came Newark, NJ (103.1%) and San Jose (102.2%). The metros with the lowest ratios are in Florida: West Palm Beach (94.8%), Miami (95.2%) and Fort Lauderdale (95.4%).
• Days on market: In Fort Lauderdale, the typical home that went under contract did so in 97 days, up 26 days from a year earlier—the biggest increase among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next came Miami (+23 days) and Las Vegas (+19 days). Three metros saw decreases in days on market: Kansas City, MO (-3 days), San Francisco (-2 days) and Chicago (-1 day).

To view the full report, including charts and full metro-level data, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuyer-discounts-september-2025

About Redfin

Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent.

You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at Redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit RocketCompanies.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251020904376/en/

Contact Redfin
Redfin Journalist Services:
Kenneth Applewhaite
press@redfin.com

Source: Redfin