It’s no longer a home sellers’ market!

For those who are wondering if the housing market is still operating to the sellers”™ advantage, the brokerage Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) reported home sellers gave concessions to buyers in 41.9% of home sales in the fourth quarter, the highest share of any three-month period in the company”™s coverage of the housing market.

The fourth quarter data is up from just over 30% in both the previous quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021, and it is higher than the 40.8% peak from the three months ending July 2020, when the housing market nearly ground to a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Redfin”™s concessions records date back to July 2020 and are based on data submitted by Redfin buyers”™ agents.

“Buyers are asking sellers for things that were unheard of during the past few years,” said Van Welborn, a Redfin real estate agent in Phoenix, where sellers gave concessions to buyers in 62.9% of home sales in the fourth quarter, the highest in the nation.

“They”™re feeling empowered, partly because their offer is often the only one, and partly because they know sellers have built up so much equity during the pandemic that they can afford to dole out sizable concessions,” Welborn added. “I recently helped one of my buyers negotiate a $10,000 credit for a new roof and a handful of other repairs. We originally asked for $15,000, but were happy with $10,000 because the homeowner also agreed to sell for less than their asking price.”