Press releases
U.S. Homebuyers Pay Closer to Listing Price in August, But Are Still Negotiating Thousands in Discounts
Florida Buyers Negotiating Deepest Discounts from Asking Price, According to August Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports
* Buyers pay 3% less than listing price in August, down from 3.3% in July and 4.5% in January
* 24.7% of all unsold homes had at least one price reduction as of Oct. 1
* Vero Beach buyers had most negotiating power
Oct 8, 2009
SEATTLE, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Homebuyers in much of the U.S. are still paying thousands of dollars below the home's asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August than they did in July, according to the August Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Buyers paid a median $6,525, or 3 percent, less than the last listing price on homes bought [i] in August, down from $7,018, or 3.3 percent, less for homes bought in July.
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Negotiating power peaked in January 2009, when buyers were paying 4.5 percent less than last listing price, a median of $10,096.
Meanwhile, sellers continue to cut prices on unsold homes. One quarter (24.7 percent) of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had at least one listing price reduction[ii] as of Oct. 1, 2009. The median U.S. price reduction[iii] was 6.6 percent off the original listing price.
Florida homebuyers again in August had the most negotiating power, with buyers in the Vero Beach metropolitan statistical area (MSA) paying 8.9 percent, or a median $20,974, less than the last listing price. Buyers in the Naples MSA paid 8 percent less than list price. The Naples, Daytona Beach, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Lakeland, Punta Gorda, Melbourne, Gainesville, Tampa, Jacksonville and Fort Myers MSAs also ranked, in that order, as the top markets for negotiation.
But in two California markets, buyers paid more than asking price during August. In the El Centro MSA, buyers paid 2.2 percent, or a median $2,479, more than asking price. In the Stockton MSA, buyers paid 1.3 percent, or $2,515, more.
"Negotiating power is a clear reflection of inventory levels, which dropped nationally in August. Tighter supply in some markets is translating into less of a discount off listing price," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "Unfortunately, the brisk spring and summer home shopping season is drawing to a close now, and with foreclosures on the rise again, inventory levels will likely head back up in the coming months, leading buyers' negotiating power to regain the ground it lost in August."
Top 25 Markets for Negotiating Discounts (ranked by percent difference from last list price to final sale)*
Median % Median $ Zillow
Difference Difference % of For Median Home
MSA from Last from List Sale % of Value Median
Statistical List Price Price to Listings Price Index Days
Area to Final Final with Price Reduc- Year-Over- Listed on
Sale(1) Sale(1) Reduc- tion Year Zillow(4)
tions(2) Change(4)
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United States 3% $6,525 24.7% 6.6% -7.6% 96
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Vero Beach,
Fla. MSA 8.9% $20,974 17.2% 9.3% -6.7% 109
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Naples,
Fla. MSA 8.0% $27,155 21.8% 9.8% -19.8% 130
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Sarasota,
Fla. MSA 7.9% $19,782 21.5% 8.6% -14.6% 109
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Panama City,
Fla. MSA 7.6% $18,160 23.2% 9.3% -7.8% 133
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Daytona Beach,
Fla. MSA 7.3% $13,724 25.7% 9.3% -19.2% 127
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Atlantic City,
N.J. MSA 7.2% $21,532 22% 6.9% -6.7% 117
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Miami-Fort
Lauderdale,
Fla. MSA 7.0% $17,586 19.5% 11.2% -18.2% 96
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Morristown,
Tenn. MSA 6.9% $12,118 21.1% 6.6% -14.3% 139
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Ocala,
Fla. MSA 6.5% $8,565 25% 10.2% -10.3% 74
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Lakeland,
Fla. MSA 6.4% $9,691 21.5% 9.1% -21.1% 111
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Punta Gorda,
Fla. MSA 6.3% $10,716 17.8% 9.8% -9.6% 130
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Toledo,
Ohio MSA 6.3% $7,472 25% 7.7% -6.6% 110
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Melbourne,
Fla. MSA 6.2% $11,138 22.4% 9.1% -14.6% 119
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Gainesville,
Fla. MSA 5.9% $10,598 24.4% 7.3% -8.5% 131
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Tampa,
Fla. MSA 5.9% $10,320 24.2% 9.1% -17.5% 101
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Stamford,
Conn. MSA 5.8% $31,324 27.2% 5.7% -6.4% 116
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Jacksonville,
Fla. MSA 5.6% $11,280 30.1% 7.7% -9.9% 109
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Chicago,
Ill. MSA 5.6% $13,805 31.4% 6.1% -11.5% 110
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Springfield,
Ohio MSA 5.6% $5,293 22.2% 8% -0.8% 96
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Cleveland,
Ohio MSA 5.5% $7,440 27.7% 7% -2.7% 91
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Pittsfield,
Mass. MSA 5.5% $15,624 22.2% 6.7% -7.8% 119
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Prescott,
Ariz. MSA 5.5% $13,038 29.5% 8.7% -18.9% 110
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Fort Myers,
Fla. MSA 5.4% $10,229 17.2% 10.7% -26.2% 130
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Detroit,
Mich. MSA 5.4% $6,444 31.6% 11.1% -23% 89
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Greensboro,
N.C. MSA 5.3% $8,209 25.5% 4.8% -4.4% 101
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*Full list available at http://zillow.mediaroom.com/ or by emailing press@zillow.com.
The full August national report for 160 MSAs, in its new, interactive format, will be available on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at www.zillow.com/local-info, or by emailing press@zillow.com. Additionally, in most areas data is available at the state, MSA, county, city, ZIP and neighborhood level.
About Zillow.com®
Zillow.com is an online real estate marketplace where homeowners, buyers, sellers, real estate agents and mortgage professionals find and share vital information about homes and mortgages, for free. Launched in early 2006 with Zestimate® home values and data on millions of U.S. homes, Zillow has since added homes for sale, a directory of real estate and lending professionals, Zillow Advice and Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. One of the most-visited U.S. real estate Web sites, with more than eight million unique visitors per month, Zillow's goal is to help people become smarter about real estate in every stage of the home ownership process--home buying, selling, remodeling and financing. The company is headquartered in Seattle and has raised $87 million in funding.
Zillow.com, Zillow and Zestimate are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.
[i] List-to-sale price ratio is the median between the most previous list price and the final sale price of the home for all Zillow listings in a given geography. Foreclosed homes are included if they were listed as for-sale on Zillow prior to the foreclosure. The dollar amount is the median price of all listings on Zillow during a month multiplied by the inverse of the list-to-sale price ratio (sale-to-list price ratio). List-to-sale price ratio is calculated for August.
[ii] Listings with price reduction are the percent of for-sale listings on Zillow that, during September, had a reduced listing price compared with the maximum listing price of the preceding three months.
[iii] The median percent of price reduction measures the median amount of all price reductions in the listing price of for-sale homes that had a reduced price during September, compared with the maximum list price in the last three months.
[iv] The Zillow Home Value Index is the median estimated value (Zestimate) of all homes in an area. This measures the change of the Zillow Home Value Index from August 2008 to August 2009.
SOURCE Zillow.com
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SOURCE: Zillow.com
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