Sellers Are Cutting Deals Right Now — Here’s What That Actually Looks Like

“I Dropped the Price $20,000” — What Selling in Texas Actually Looks Like Right Now

If you’re getting ready to sell, I want to tell you something plainly instead of dressing it up: sellers across Texas are outnumbered by buyers right now, and that’s flipping the negotiating table. This isn’t a scare tactic. It’s what’s actually happening in real transactions, described by the agents who closed them.

I recently had to ask a Seller to do the same – mostly because they needed to move NOW, and also because the new build comparables required it. Their neighboring properties are STILL on the market; we sold in 14 days at market value.

The Numbers Behind It

Texas metros currently rank among the strongest buyer’s markets in the country, with Houston leading, followed by San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Home sellers now outnumber buyers across the state, which is the exact condition that hands negotiating leverage to whoever’s writing the offer instead of whoever’s accepting it.

What That Looks Like in Real Deals

This isn’t abstract. A Redfin agent in Houston recently had a seller drop the price by $20,000 on a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath house to keep the deal together. In San Antonio, a seller agreed to cover $18,000 in closing costs on a home that sold for $399,900. One San Antonio agent put it bluntly: builders are handing out major incentives right now to compete for the same shrinking pool of buyers, which pulls resale sellers into the same fight whether they like it or not.

But It’s Not Uniformly Bad

Here’s the part that keeps this from being a doom-and-gloom post: pricing correctly still works. A Dallas-area agent recently helped two buyers into bidding wars in Plano — one home sold just above its $350,000 asking price, the other at its full $650,000 asking price. Both were described the same way: well-maintained, move-in ready, priced right from day one. Overpriced, needs-work listings are what’s sitting. Homes priced honestly and shown well are still finding buyers fast, sometimes with competition.

What This Means If You’re Selling Soon

• • Price it right the first time. In this market, an overambitious list price doesn’t just sit — it trains buyers to lowball you once you finally do cut it.
  • Decide your concession strategy before you list, not during a Negotiation. Knowing in advance what you’re willing to offer on closing costs or repairs puts you in control of the conversation instead of reacting to it.
  • Move-in ready matters more than usual. With buyers holding leverage, they’re being selective. Deferred maintenance that used to get overlooked in a hot market is now a real sticking point.
  • Timing still matters within the year. Spring has historically been the strongest season for sellers to avoid a price cut; homes that close in winter face the steepest odds of a reduction.

The Bottom Line

This is a market where the sellers who do their homework — accurate pricing, honest prep, a clear-eyed concession strategy — are still closing well. The sellers who list high and wait for 2022 to come back are the ones handing away leverage for free. I’d rather tell you that straight now than let you find it out after 90 days on market.

If you’re weighing whether now’s the right time to list, or you want a pricing strategy built around what’s actually closing in your specific neighborhood, let’s set up a strategy session.