By DON FENLEY

Rogersville was the hottest Tri-Cities market for price cuts in July. Sellers there trimmed the asking price on 57.1% of sales, the highest share of any market with a solid sales count.

Gray and Blountville were close behind. In each market, close to half of all sellers or more had to come down on price before a sale closed. These are mid-sized markets. A handful of extra cuts can lift the market share quickly. Even so, the direction is clear. Sellers in these three towns adjusted more often than anywhere else.

Ranked by price-cut share. Avg cut is the drop from original list to final list.

How often is not how much

A high price reduction rate does not always mean a deep cut. Rogersville led on how often sellers cut, but its typical cut was one of the smaller ones on the board. Gray, Abingdon, and Erwin cut less often. Yet when their sellers moved, they moved further. Buyers should read the two numbers together. One shows the odds of a markdown. The other shows how much room it may open.

The big markets held steadier

The region’s busiest markets stayed near the middle. Kingsport and Bristol ran a little above the pack. Johnson City had the lowest cut rate of any major market. Its sellers held their asking price more often than most. Steadiness in the largest market is a big reason the region-wide cut rate eased this summer.

A note on the small markets

Several smaller communities posted even higher cut rates on very few sales. Unicoi, Hampton, and Chuckey each topped the leaders on a dozen or fewer closings. Those markets are left out of the ranking. On thin volume, a single sale can swing the share and mislead a reader.

Categories: REAL ESTATE