US Existing-Home Buyers Seeing Largest Discounts in Nearly Two Years

On Wednesday, Redfin reported that the average US home listing is selling for under its asking price and taking a longer time to sell, as of January.

According to Redfin’s data, as of January, buyers may have more room for negotiation than they have in several years:

• The typical home is selling for 1.8% less than its asking price, the biggest discount in nearly two years.
• The typical home that sells is taking 56 days to go under contract, the longest span in nearly five years.
• More than half (56%) of listings are sitting on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract, roughly the same share during this time of year in 2023 and 2024. That’s down from the prior month, when 61% of listings were on the market for at least 60 days—the highest share in five years.

Today’s housing market is slow mostly because it’s so expensive to buy a home, Redfin said. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.96% in January. That’s down from the two-decade high of 7.62% in 2023 but remains well above the 3–5% rates that were common before and during the pandemic.

The median US home-sale price is up 4% year-over-year; together, high prices and rates have pushed the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment near record highs.