Published September 27, 2026 in Market Update

Buyers may have more room to negotiate in parts of Primary market

By Marlon Persaud

Real estate, Primary market

Here is the one thing that changes what you should do right now. Sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of U.S. home sales in August, according to Redfin. That is nearly half of all deals. Locally, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows most ZIP codes closing below list on average. That gap is real, and it is worth knowing before you price or make an offer.

These numbers cover the three months ending July 31, 2026. Read them as a snapshot, not a forecast.

How far below list are homes actually closing?

The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked sale-to-list ratios across every ZIP code in this market. The range runs from 95.8% to 99.1%. That means the average home is selling somewhere between about 1 cent and 4 cents below every dollar of list price. Not every seller budges, but the pattern is clear in most areas.

ZIP 34756 sits at the widest gap. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put its average sale-to-list at 95.8%, and not one home there sold above list price in this period. Days on market averaged 74, the longest of any ZIP tracked here. That is real room for a buyer to work with.

ZIP 32789 is close behind at 96.1%, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. The median sale price there rose 43.6% year over year to $1,170,000. Prices moved up, but sellers still closed below list on average. Higher price points do not always mean less room to negotiate.

Where sellers hold firmer

ZIP 34714 is the tightest spot in this market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator recorded a 99.1% sale-to-list ratio there, and 16.2% of homes sold above list. That is the highest above-list share of any ZIP here. Sellers in 34714 are not giving much ground on average.

ZIP 34736 and ZIP 34715 also sit above 98.5% on the sale-to-list measure, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Buyers in those areas may find less flexibility, though not every home is the same.

Homes that sold above list: the full picture

Even in softer areas, some homes still go above list. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted above-list sales in nearly every ZIP. But in most of them, that share is small.

Speed versus negotiating room: a ZIP code comparison

What the national picture adds

Redfin reported that August was the strongest buyer's market on record in the U.S., with 58% more home sellers than buyers nationally. That kind of imbalance is part of why concessions are so common right now.

Redfin also found that roughly 15% of buyers are getting a double discount: a seller concession and a price cut on the same home. That does not happen in every deal, but it is happening often enough to plan around.

The National Association of Realtors put national months of supply at 4.9, the highest in over ten years. More supply means buyers have more choices and, in many cases, more leverage.

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. That rate still shapes what buyers can afford, and it affects how sellers need to price to attract them.

What this means if you are selling

Most areas in this market are closing below list. That is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to price carefully from day one. Homes that are priced right are still moving. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 29.2% of homes in ZIP 34711 going under contract within two weeks. In ZIP 32803, that share was 46%. Sharp pricing still works.

In ZIP 34756, only 14.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Days on market there averaged 74. If your home sits in a slower area, presentation and price matter more, not less.

What this means if you are buying

A below-list close does not happen automatically. It takes knowing which ZIP you are in and what the actual sale-to-list looks like for homes like yours. In 34756 and 32789, the data supports asking for more. In 34714, the data says to come in prepared.

One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. The numbers above are averages, and your home sits in a specific spot within them. If you want to know where your address lands, send it my way.