As home prices become less attainable, it's become increasingly common for homebuyers to receive concessions. According to recent data from online real estate brokerage Redfin, buyers received concessions in 44.4% of home-sale transactions during Q1 2025. Compared with Q1 2024, just 39.3% of home sales included concessions. This trend has grown as high housing prices have caused buyer demand to waver. However, at the same time, sellers are facing more competition from one another, with listings now at a five-year high.
This is even more prevalent in expensive cities, where home costs are higher. In Seattle, home concessions grew the most year-over-year. There, home sellers gave concessions to buyers in 71.3% of transactions, compared with 36.4% of transactions last year. This was followed by Portland, which saw concessions grow by more than 14% to 63.9%, and then Los Angeles, where concessions grew by 11% to 56.1% of transactions during Q1 2025.
“It’s super common to see seller concessions for condos and new-construction townhomes, but less so for single-family homes—unless the single-family home has been sitting on the market for a while,” said Stephanie Kastner, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Seattle. “Condos have become a tougher sell because of skyrocketing HOA fees and insurance. And builders are offering concessions because it’s in their best interest to keep sale prices high; they’re willing to pay buyers’ closing costs and maybe provide a free washer-dryer if it means they don’t have to drop the listing price.” Read more