Nearly Half of Homebuyers Are Getting Seller Concessions as Buyer Leverage Grows

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Home sellers are increasingly paying to get deals across the finish line as elevated mortgage rates and abundant inventory give buyers more negotiating power.

Seller concessions were reported in 44.7% of U.S. home sales in August, up from 42.6% a year earlier and the highest August share since at least 2020, according to a Redfin analysis released Sept. 18. The brokerage’s analysis is based on transactions reported by its buyers’ agents and uses rolling three-month periods.

The figure matters because concessions can reduce a buyer’s effective cost without requiring the seller to cut the contract price. Redfin counts seller-paid closing costs, repairs and mortgage-rate buydowns as concessions; negotiated price reductions are tracked separately.

Sun Belt buyers are extracting the biggest concessions

The national average masks a sharp geographic split. Atlanta led the 29 metros in Redfin’s analysis, with concessions reported in 72.8% of sales. Charlotte followed at 67.9%, Phoenix at 67.4%, Las Vegas at 66.7% and Raleigh at 66.3%.

Eight of the 10 metros with the highest concession shares were in the Sun Belt. Those markets absorbed substantial homebuilding and migration during the pandemic-era boom, but demand has since cooled while inventory expanded. That combination has shifted leverage toward buyers.

At the other end of the spectrum, concessions were reported in just 4.2% of San Jose sales and 5.7% of New York sales. San Francisco was at 18.6%. Redfin described San Francisco as one of the relatively few seller’s markets in the country.

Some buyers are getting two discounts

Redfin found that 15.8% of August sales included both a concession and a price cut, up slightly from 15.6% a year earlier and the highest August share in the company’s records.

That distinction is important for agents, lenders and appraisers. A concession can affect the economics of a transaction without appearing as a straightforward reduction in the sale price, while a transaction receiving both a price cut and seller assistance signals considerably more negotiating leverage.

Redfin Premier agent Amanda Peterson said buyers in Dallas are asking for extensive concessions, particularly on newly built homes, where builders may offer money toward closing costs, rate buydowns or appliances.

The data reinforces a broader shift already visible in inventory and contract activity. WRE reported this week that Redfin’s high-frequency pending-sales measure fell to its lowest level in nearly three years. The new concessions data shows what that softer demand is doing inside transactions that still close: buyers are increasingly able to negotiate beyond price alone.

For housing professionals, the practical implication is local rather than national. Concession rates vary dramatically by market, and the negotiating environment in Atlanta, Phoenix or Las Vegas bears little resemblance to San Jose or New York. As affordability remains strained, seller-funded closing costs and rate buydowns are likely to remain an important tool for converting listings into completed sales.