Price Drops Help Drive Home Sales Surge

SEATTLE—Homebuyers who have been willing to wait for better deals will be rewarded for their patience, as sellers drop listing prices to meet buyers’ more value-focused expectations, according to the latest Housing Market Tracker from Redfin. In the report, Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson explains that a slowdown in home price growth and a shift in pricing power from sellers to a more balanced market combined to cause this change in housing activity as the market transitions from summer to the fall buying season.

For the first time in five months, price growth was flat in July across all 35 markets included in the report. That shift has been nearly nine months in the making from when sales began to first decline last November. As a result of this shift, the number of homes that sold above list price in July is down nearly 7% to 20.1% from 26.8% a year ago, the biggest drop of the year.