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Weak demand drives up share of homesellers cutting prices

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Record high home prices are keeping buyers on the sidelines, forcing sellers to drop their listing prices at a rate not seen since the onset of the pandemic ground the real estate industry to a halt, according to a report released Thursday by Redfin.

The typical home sold for 0.3 percent less than the original asking price in the past month, the portal and brokerage wrote in its new report. It’s the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that the typical home sold for less than listing price.

Fewer homes, 32.3 percent, are selling for over listing price. That’s down from a year earlier, Redfin reported. An average of nearly 7 percent of sellers dropped their prices, up from 4.7 percent a year earlier.

Home sale prices rose 4.9 percent to an all-time high of $397,250. Meanwhile, 30-year mortgage rates still sit around 7 percent, meaning the typical monthly payment is $2,785, near an all-time high.

Inventory also rose while homes sat longer. There were 8.2 percent more listings than a year ago nationwide, while pending sales fell 4.3 percent.

Sixty percent of homes sat for at least a month without going under contract, Redfin reported.

Marije Kruythoff, a Redfin Premier agent in Los Angeles, said the home’s condition and location are big differentiators.

“The hottest properties in this area are either move-in ready or complete fixer-uppers,” Kruythoff said. “The homes in between, those that are pretty nice but not updated, are sitting on the market longest.” 

Email Taylor Anderson