Homes Now Sell Below List Price in 41 of 50 Major U.S. Metros 

The typical home now sells below its list price in 41 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros, according to a new report from Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.  

The nine metros where the typical home sells above list price are: 

1. San Francisco, CA 
2. Hartford, CT 
3. San Jose, CA 
4. Boston, MA 
5. New York, NY 
6. Milwaukee, WI 
7. Richmond, VA 
8. Providence, RI 
9. Chicago, IL 

Buyers have the least negotiating power in Hartford, where only 10.6% of listings are discounted and homes sell for about 104.3% of the list price. 

Conversely, buying power is growing most actively across the Midwest. The region claims eight of the 15 metros with the biggest year-over-year jumps in price cuts: Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. 

The cities where buyers have the most negotiating power are: 

1. Detroit, MI 
2. San Antonio, TX 
3. Austin, TX 
4. Pittsburgh, PA 
5. Houston, TX 
6. Tampa, FL 
7. Memphis, TN 
8. Dallas, TX 
9. Indianapolis, IN 
10. Philadelphia, PA 

No market favors buyers more than Detroit, where about 20% of homes carry a reduced price and sellers trim an average of 6.2% off the asking price, the second-largest cut of any city studied. Detroit’s median sale price is $224,308, the lowest in the report. 

Only San Francisco sees deeper discounts than Detroit, averaging 6.3%. However, just 10.2% of its listings are discounted, the smallest share of the 50 metros. 

Texas also stands out, with all four major metros ranking among the most favorable markets. San Antonio has discounted more listings (28.2%) than any other major city. 

Buyer-friendly conditions, however, may be short-lived. Over the past year, price-drop activity cooled in more than half of the metros studied, while the sale-to-list-price ratio climbed in more than a third. 

Those shifts suggest leverage could be creeping back toward sellers, and the buyers most likely to strike a deal are the ones who act now.