Housing expert: "Sellers must negotiate"

It's the same housing story across the US, according to real estate agents in three US cities. Sellers are offering more concessions as buyer demand wanes and listings remain on the market.
"Gone are the days of 'Hey, my neighbor across the street sold just last year for $100,000 over list price.' Sellers absolutely have to negotiate,” Dan O'Brien, an agent at Trueblood Real Estate who covers Indianapolis, told Yahoo Finance. (video above).
And this is good news for buyers.
"Now, we actually have buyers protected by contingencies, like an inspection and appraisal," O'Brien said, "when a lot of times those were out the window during the craziness of the COVID market."
Here's what's happening in Denver, Indianapolis and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to these agents.

Denver

Denver housing slowed in December. The median sales price fell 4% year-over-year to $528,250. Amid the cooling, buyers are taking their time buying homes and asking for incentives. The sharp turnaround came after the Denver market jumped 30% since March 2020.
"Right now, sellers are working to help the interest rate rise. So they're offering a 2-1 purchase," said Kathy Casey, a Coldwell Banker residential broker in Denver. "What this means is that in the first two years your interest rate will be lower than the interest rate in the market right now."
However, the market shows potential change.
"So we're already starting to see signs of the spring market, which show that it may be a heated market," Casey said. "So go out, find a house you like and you love."

Indianapolis

Similarly, housing activity in Indianapolis eased toward the end of 2022. Homes stayed on the market for an average of 22 days in December, compared to an average of just four days in May 2022.
"Buyer demand has definitely slowed with the rise in interest rates," O'Brien said. "Things continue a little longer in the market."
The increase in the number of days on the market is partly due to an increase in the supply of houses. There were nearly 1,600 more active listings in the city in December, up 26% year over year, according to Redfin.
"To put it in perspective, we just now broke the number where it was before the coronavirus," O'Brien said. But "we are still low in stock".
However, buyers are still struggling with affordability concerns as mortgage rates remain significantly higher than a year ago. Banks and sellers step in to help.
"Different banks offer different types of mortgage products to help with the increased mortgage interest." O'Brien said, "And the sellers are offering a 2-1 credit to purchase, or just generally, to lower the interest rate to make it more affordable for the buyer."

Charlotte

Like other markets, Charlotte's sellers provide incentives to make deals, especially paying for closing costs and reducing interest rates, according to Sir Ashley Harrison, a Realtor with The Harrison Group with Fathom Realty in Charlotte. However, pricing hasn't moved that much.
"We're seeing more inventory, but less new listings," Harrison said. "And we get much more relief for the seller, but the pricing remains very sticky."
The number of homes sold in Charlotte has fallen over the past six months. Only 823 homes were on the market in December, a 42% drop from a year ago. And homes stayed on the market for an average of 48 days in December, more than double the number of days in May 2022.
"Buyer demand is down," Harrison said.