Buyers are officially putting their foot down. With mortgage rates creeping back up, signed contracts just took a dive. Homes are sitting. Sellers are finally having to rethink their asking prices.
The great seller reality check
It's a classic standoff. Borrowing costs climbed again last month, and buyers responded by simply walking away. CNBC reported a sharp drop in pending home sales for June. Families are clearly done stretching their monthly budgets. With fewer people buying, the number of available houses nationwide has more than doubled since the frantic lows of 2021.
Yet many homeowners still list their properties with pandemic-era expectations. They price high. Nobody shows up. Then they spend weeks chasing the market downward. Homebuilders are caught in the exact same trap. Builder confidence just fell again. A growing chunk of developers are quietly piling on price cuts just to get anyone through the front door. The era of the effortless sale is over.
What's happening in your state
The national average hides a massive geographical split. If you live in Texas, the power has shifted back to you. Houston is the only major metro to officially cross into buyer's market territory, according to HousingWire. Austin is seeing nearly half of its listings get price reductions. Down in Florida, Miami homes are taking nearly three months to find a buyer. Sellers in the Sun Belt finally have to negotiate. They're dropping prices week by week as inventory piles up.
Up North, the housing shortage continues to frustrate buyers. Rhode Island remains incredibly competitive. Providence prices are climbing while inventory stays painfully low. Over in Wisconsin, Milwaukee homes fly off the market in less than a month. Buyers in the Northeast and Midwest are still fighting bidding wars and stubborn sellers on tight timelines.
Local governments are trying to bridge the affordability gap where they can. In Kentucky, the city of Covington just bumped its forgivable homebuyer assistance loans up to $15,000. The city is offering these zero-interest loans to anyone who stays in the home long-term to help residents handle the rising costs of ownership.
The bottom line for you
- If you're getting ready to list your house, price it for today's reality. Homes that start too high sit untouched. Check out our selling guide to help set a competitive asking price from day one.
- House hunters in the Sun Belt finally have some real leverage. Don't be afraid to ask for seller concessions or rate buydowns, and use our home buying guide to help you handle the negotiation.
- If you're house hunting in the South, remember that buying a home there means preparing for extreme weather. Review our Texas seasonal checklist to ensure your new roof and air conditioning are up to the task before you sign the closing papers.