10 cities where seller -wishing houses offer cash concessions

Americans feel enough in the economics of the economy as fears of recession increase. But the prospects for a group can actually be on the hold: house buyers.

If you are looking for a house, you may be lucky because the real estate market is slowly starting to bow in favor of buyers, according to Redfin.

The biggest sign? House sellers grant concessions to buyers. Throughout the country, 44.4% of house sales included a concession in the first quarter of 2025, against 39.3% a year earlier.

The sellers throw in the kitchen sink – literally. The concessions are presented in many forms and are used by sellers to soften an agreement and encourage buyers to conclude the transaction faster. For example, sellers can offer to cover closing costs, pay for home repairs or household appliances, buy the mortgage rate or pay for other various costs.

The owners who put their homes on the market quickly realize that they must use concessions or even direct price reductions to conclude the agreement.

Many sellers bought their houses in 2021 and 2022 when the value of the houses was at record heights, so they are impatient to request a high price to pick up their money, said real estate agents from Redfin.

Unfortunately for sellers, buyers simply do not have it.

According to Redfin, the median request price for a house is $ 469,729, but the median selling price is less than 9% than $ 431,057 – which means that sellers are forced to temper their expectations and lower their prices.

“There is an increasing disconnection between what sellers think they can get for their house and the management that the market evolves,” said Elijah de la Campa, senior economist of Redfin.

Buyers gain the upper hand

There are many more sellers than buyers on the housing market, and buyers are hesitant to press a large transaction in times of increased economic uncertainty. High mortgage rates and expensive prices of houses discourage buyers more.

“When buyers and sellers are on different planets, one side must finally give in, and it seems that it will be sellers this time,” said Campa. “The increase in stocks, price reductions and sellers concessions indicate that it is already starting to happen, and the growth in selling prices will probably continue to slow down accordingly.”

Buyers should take advantage of this dynamic, Chaley Mcvay, a Redfin real estate agent in Portland, Oregon, recommends.

“If you are a buyer and you find a house that you like who is a little higher than your price range, I encourage you to start the conversation and make an offer anyway. Many house hunters are hesitant to offer under the requested price, but on this market, it is not out of the ordinary to see the sellers lower their prices and give concessions.”

The 10 best cities where sellers give concessions

You will find below the 10 best American metropolitan areas where the sellers gave concessions in the first quarter of 2025, as well as the percentage of sales of houses with concessions for each city.