More than 25 percent of the current stock of homes listed for sale had a price reduction of more than one percent in the four weeks ending on September 16th, according to Redfin.
These levels are a record high for Redfin since it began tracking this metric in 2010, and the data also reveal that the greatest price cuts were in the Western U.S., which has had the greatest recent price appreciation. Even though supply is still short, CNBC reports that in California, the sales pace has hit a two-year low, and while home prices still grew 5.5 percent year-over-year, it reflects slower growth than in previous months. The median days on market for California also increased, from 18 to 21. Leslie Appleton-Young, senior vice president and chief economist for California Association of Realtors believes a market shift may be underway, "the question remains, 'How long will it take for the market to close the price expectation gap between buyers and sellers?'"
"After years of strong price growth and intense competition for homes, buyers are taking advantage of the market's easing pressure by being selective about which homes to offer on and how high to bid," said Taylor Marr, senior economist at Redfin, in a release. "But there are some early signs of a softening market, and the increase in price drops may be another indicator that sellers are going to have trouble getting the prices, and the bidding wars, that they may have just months ago."