By DON FENLEY

Almost half of the homes that sold in the Tri-Cities last month, 42.5%, had price reductions. That’s a slight uptick from 42.4% last year. Sellers are still reducing the original listings price, but they are making smaller adjustments.

What changed is how deep those cuts ran. The average price reduction last month was $24,643, or 7.3% off the original listing price. Last year sellers who cut their prices were trimming an average of $28,584, 8.4%.

Buyers extended their advantage at the closing table. A little over two-thirds of the homes that sold last month had concessions that averaged $15,396. This time last year, the average was $16,186, and concessions accounted for 63.2% of sales.

For buyers, the data points to an environment where negotiation continues to be worthwhile — particularly in homes that have been sitting.

For sellers, pricing competitively from the start appears to be reducing the need for price reductions, even if some giveback at closing remains common across the market.

There were 617 home sales last month, up 6.2% from last year. The median sales price was $185,000, up 5.6% from March last year.

Categories: REAL ESTATE