The Seller Concessions Conversation: What to Tell Sellers Right Now

Nearly Half of Sellers Are Already Doing This — Your Seller Should Know That

Almost half the country is already offering concessions, so a seller who resists the idea is negotiating against the market, not just against a buyer. Redfin found that 44.7% of U.S. home sales included a seller concession in August 2026, up from 42.6% a year earlier and the highest August share since at least 2020, with 15.8% of sales pairing a concession with a price cut — the highest August level on record (Redfin). Redfin's own read on the month was direct: August 2026 was "the strongest buyer's market so far in 2026, and the strongest in its records dating back to 2013," a shift Inman's coverage ties to mortgage rates pushing back toward 7% after the Federal Reserve's first rate increase in three years (Inman). The seller concessions conversation is no longer an edge-case negotiation tactic. It is close to the median transaction.

The Seller Concessions Conversation Doesn't Mean the House Is Overpriced

The single biggest misconception sellers bring to this conversation is that a concession is an admission something is wrong with the home, and that's the first thing worth correcting before talking about numbers. A Dallas-based Redfin Premier agent, Amanda Peterson, described what's actually driving the pattern from the buyer's side: "Buyers know they can be picky. They're asking for every concession under the sun" (Redfin). That's a description of buyer leverage in a market with more inventory to choose from, not a verdict on any individual listing. A seller who understands that concessions have become standard practice, not a red flag, is a seller who can negotiate calmly instead of taking a buyer's ask personally.

Where Your Market Actually Sits Matters More Than the National Number

The national 44.7% figure hides enormous regional variation, and leading with your specific metro's number is far more useful to a seller than a national headline. Redfin's regional breakdown shows concessions concentrated heavily in Sun Belt metros that saw heavy pandemic-era construction: Atlanta led at 72.8% of sales, followed by Charlotte at 67.9%, Phoenix at 67.4%, Las Vegas at 66.7%, and Raleigh at 66.3% (Redfin). At the other end, tight-inventory tech-hub markets stayed seller-favorable: San Jose sat at just 4.2%, New York at 5.7%, and San Francisco at 18.6% (Redfin). A seller in Atlanta and a seller in San Jose are operating in two functionally different markets, and the concessions conversation should be framed around local data, not a national average that may not describe either one accurately.

What to Actually Offer: Rate Buydowns Are Leading the List

When a concession makes sense, a mortgage rate buydown is often more persuasive to a buyer than an equivalent price reduction, because it directly addresses monthly payment, which is usually the thing actually keeping a buyer up at night. Builders have leaned hard into this tactic, commonly offering buydowns alongside $10,000 to $20,000 in other concessions, according to Redfin's reporting (Redfin) — and a resale seller can use the same logic on a smaller scale. Other common concessions worth having ready to discuss include covering a portion of closing costs, a home warranty, or a credit toward repairs identified in inspection, each of which solves a different objection than a straight price cut does.

How to Introduce the Conversation Before an Offer, Not After

The seller concessions conversation works best woven into the original listing appointment, not introduced defensively after a buyer's first offer comes in low or asks for extras. Framing it early, as part of "here's how buyers are shopping right now" rather than "here's what's wrong with your asking price," keeps the seller from feeling like the conversation is a response to a problem with their home specifically. A simple version, built from the national figure already cited above (Redfin): "About 45% of sales nationally are including some kind of concession right now, and in our specific market that number is closer to [your local figure] — so if a strong offer comes in asking for one, that's a normal part of how deals are getting done, not a sign we priced this wrong."

Where Loqol Fits Into Having This Conversation With Current Numbers

Having this conversation well depends on walking in with current, market-specific numbers rather than a general sense that "concessions are more common now." Loqol (loqol.ai), an AI and automation platform built for licensed brokerages, is built to make that easy for every agent on a roster, not just the ones who track market data closely on their own. Its AI assistant, Charlie AI, automatically crunches comps, days-on-market trends, and price and concession patterns into analysis an agent can bring straight into a listing appointment, while also drafting the CMA, assembling the disclosure package, and tracking every deadline once an offer comes in. That AI automation runs the same way for every agent, broker, and TC in the office, so a seller conversation about concessions is backed by the same current data whether it's the office's top producer or a newer agent having the conversation for the first time.

Make the Data the Talking Point, Not the Apology

A seller who hears "we may need to offer a concession" as bad news is reacting to the framing, not the fact. A seller who hears "44.7% of buyers nationally are getting some kind of concession right now (Redfin), and here's what that looks like in our specific market" is being given information they can actually use to negotiate confidently. The data has shifted enough this year that the conversation itself needs to shift with it — treat concessions as a normal, expected part of the current market, not an exception to explain away. For more on pricing discipline in a market with real buyer leverage, see why overpricing a listing costs more than it used to, and for the construction-side data behind why buyers have so much to choose from right now, this look at August 2026 housing starts is a useful companion piece.