Share of Home Sales With Concessions in Quarter Through August Hits Highest for That Period Since At Least 2020, Redfin Says

03:15 PM EDT, 09/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The share of US home sales in the quarter through August in which sellers gave concession to buyers reached the highest for that period since at least 2020, Redfin said Friday. Sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of deals during the three months ended Aug. 31, up from 42.6% a year earlier and marking the highest share for the period since at least 2020, the online real estate brokerage said. A concession is considered anything that a seller provides to help reduce a buyer's total cost of purchasing a home, but excludes a lower listed price or price reductions due to negotiations, according to Redfin. The period marked the strongest buyer's market since 2013, as a growing supply of homes met a shrinking pool of active buyers. Sellers are offering to handle closing costs, cover repair bills, or add extra incentives to close a deal, the report showed. "Buyers know they can be picky. They're asking for every concession under the sun," said Amanda Peterson, a Redfin Premier agent in Dallas. "That's especially true for newly built homes. Builders are offering $10,000 or $20,000 in concessions, buying down mortgage rates and throwing in appliances." Eight of the 10 markets where concessions are most common were in the Sun Belt, led by Atlanta, where sellers offered concessions in 72.8% of the deals. Concessions were least common in strong housing markets like the Bay Area and New York, led by San Jose, California, where just 4.2% of sellers gave concessions, according to Redfin. Some 15.8% of US homes that sold in the three months through August had a price drop in addition to a concession, also the highest share for that period, the brokerage said. Separately, Zillow Group (Z, ZG) said Friday it now expects its count of existing home sales to drop 3.5% year over year in the fourth quarter, compared with its prior outlook of a 3.2% decrease. For the full-year, the firms expects sales to rise 1.2% from 2025, it said in its report. Earlier this week, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said US homebuilder confidence this month hit its lowest level since September 2025 amid elevated mortgage rates and increasing material costs. Price: 30.04, Change: -0.06, Percent Change: -0.20