Selling her home became a long, expensive process for a Texas owner who kept lowering the price without attracting a buyer.
She first listed the house at $750,000, saw no sale after six months on the market, and eventually closed at $650,000.
Here's what to know
As the AP reported, stories like Murphy, Texas, finance director Liz Suder's are becoming more common as homeowners lose negotiating power and increasingly resort to price cuts and seller concessions.
She listed her four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home in April 2025 for $750,000. Ultimately, it took over a year to sell for $650,000 after she spent $9,000 on repairs.
Realtor.com data cited by the outlet showed September's national median listing price was $419,250, down 1.2% from a year earlier and extending an 11-month streak of annual declines. About 21% of listings in September cut their original asking price, the highest share in four years.
The AP said a major factor behind the shift is the cost of borrowing. After briefly dipping below 6% in February, the average 30-year mortgage rate climbed to 7.4%, its highest level in nearly three years.
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At First American Financial, chief economist Mark Fleming described the shift.
"The dynamic has shifted back toward more of what we call buyers' markets rather than sellers' markets." he told the outlet.
More background
Redfin data cited by the AP showed the 50 largest U.S. metro areas had about 63% more sellers than buyers. Buyer totals were around 929,000, the lowest on record since 2013, while seller counts climbed to their highest level since 2020.
For many owners who need to move, that imbalance is putting important plans on hold.
Ethan Butner, a service manager in Troutdale, Oregon, is one of the homeowners in a pickle, according to the AP. His family already has an accepted offer on a larger home near Portland, but that move depends on selling their current house first. After listing it at $480,000, he cut the price by $30,000 and received just one offer, which later fell through.
What can be done?
The AP said the menu of choices for sellers isn't complicated, even if none are especially appealing. They can cut the price, offer concessions, make repairs, or step back and wait.
For those without time to spare, that means helping with expenses beyond the purchase price. Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, said elevated borrowing costs are changing the dynamic.
"It's sort of like an indicator of where the market is right now, with buyers gaining leverage at the expense of sellers, and sellers doing more now to meet buyers halfway," Krimmel explained to the outlet.
Butner replaced the flooring and added a new hot water heater and dishwasher to improve his home's appeal, and now he's playing the waiting game.
"We've had this vision of being in our own home and all the kids having their own rooms and all the good stuff that comes along with that," he told the AP. "We definitely feel stuck at the moment."
Where can I learn more?
The housing slowdown is playing out differently in each market.
• In Frisco, Texas, homes sold for 26% less than they did two years ago.
• Across the U.S., older condos are slumping as HOA fees climb past $11,000.
• In Jacksonville, builders now undercut resales as incentives erase the new-home premium.
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