Summer 2026 was the best buyer's market in over a decade, with concessions among August deals also at their highest since 2020, according to Redfin. 

Current trends affecting housing costs mean lenders and their real estate partners are likely to face choosy buyers, but the frequency of incentives offered also gives them the opportunity to market to pent-up purchase demand.   

"There are so many homes for sale that buyers are holding out for one that checks every box," said Amanda Peterson, a Redfin premier agent in Dallas.

Sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of real estate transactions between June and August, Redfin reported. The share was the highest for that three-month period since 2020, exceeding the 42.6% posted a year earlier. 

The growth in concessions comes at the same time data showed August was the hottest buyers' market since 2013, with 58% more sellers than those looking to purchase.    

While an abundance of for-sale properties may currently exist, availability has yet to provide an originations boost, with rising mortgage rates and tax and insurance costs weighing on the minds of consumers. Knowledge of likely concessions may be able to coax some on the sidelines to the borrowing table. 

Buyers are also aware they have time on their side to shop and pursue the best deal, though, contributing to sluggish housing turnover. 

"Buyers know they can be picky. They're asking for every concession under the sun," Peterson added. 

Along with concessions, which could mean the seller makes home repairs before sale, pays closing costs or offers mortgage-rate buydowns, one in seven, or 15.8%, of buyers also received the additional benefit of a reduction in the original asking price over the rolling three-month period. The share was the highest on record. 

Buyers are seeing such incentives in the new-home market, in particular, Redfin noted. 

"Builders are offering $10,000 or $20,000 in concessions, buying down mortgage rates and throwing in appliances," Peterson said. 

Thirty-eight percent of construction firms are also cutting their prices this month, the National Association of Home Builders said this week. 

Where concessions are most and least common

Of the 10 markets offering the most concessions, eight are located in the Sun Belt region, which saw an influx of new residents and building boom earlier this decade. Many of the most active markets at that time have since "done a 180," Redfin said.  

In Atlanta, 72.8% of recent purchases came with a buyer incentive. Second in concessions was Charlotte, North Carolina, at 67.9% and Phoenix at 67.4%. 

The frequency of concession offers coincides with newly released foreclosure data that show a softening housing market in many parts of the Sun Belt. 

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, popular markets on both coasts led the list of cities with the fewest concessions. San Jose, California, came in with a share of just 4.2% relative to total sales. The technology hub was followed by New York at 5.7% and San Francisco at 18.6%.