The typical homebuyer who acquired a home for below the list price in 2025 enjoyed a 7.9% discount on the purchase, the largest since 2012.
According to data from Redfin, one in four homebuyers who snagged discounts came away with 10% or more off the list price. Nearly two-thirds of all homebuyers closed with discounted purchases in 2025, the highest share since 2019.
By comparison, 22.8% paid more than the list price, the lowest share since 2019. Just under one in six (15.6%) paid the exact list price, a share that has remained relatively steady over the years.
The typical condo buyer who paid below the list price in 2025 got an 8.1% discount, compared with a 7.9% discount for single-family-home buyers and a 6.5% discount for townhouse buyers. Last year marked the first year since 2014 when condos sold at a bigger discount than single-family homes.
Redfin found only four metros where the typical homebuyer paid more than the asking price last year, with three of those markets located in the Bay Area: San Francisco (3.8% above the asking price), Newark, New Jersey (3.1%), San Jose (2.3%), and Oakland (1.3%).
In dollar terms, the typical homebuyer who paid less than the list price in 2025 got a $31,592 discount, which Redfin calculated by applying the 7.9% average discount to last year’s median original list price of $399,900. Among all homebuyers, the average discount was $15,196, or 3.8%. Redfin based its findings on annual MLS data comparing original list prices with final sale prices.
“Homebuyers in 2026 shouldn’t write off homes that are slightly above their budget because there’s a good chance they’ll get some sort of concession from the seller, be it a price cut, money toward closing costs or funds for repairs,” said Redin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “This marks a reversal from the pandemic homebuying frenzy, when house hunters were advised to search for homes below their budget because fierce bidding wars were causing properties to sell far above the asking price.”
