Metro Detroit home sellers dropping prices

Nearly a quarter of houses for sale in Metro Detroit saw price cuts recently, according to Redfin data.

Why it matters: Home sellers across the country are increasingly offering discounts to entice buyers hampered by high housing costs .

Flashback: Price cuts surged nationwide in 2022 , partly because rising mortgage rates caused home shoppers to back out of the market.

Zoom in: The share of homes in Metro Detroit with sellers cutting their prices has ranged from 20% in December to 24% in May, the most recent month available from Redfin.

• Before that, the last couple of years, that share has ranged up and down.

What they're saying: "Houses are not selling as fast, so because of that, people are dropping prices to create interest in their property, but it's not a significant enough change to establish a trend," Darralyn Bowers, a longtime realtor and president of Southfield-based Bowers Realty, tells Axios.

• Bowers says when sellers' properties haven't sold in 30 days, she goes back to the marketplace and evaluates other homes, plus the number of offers received and showings. If there isn't enough interest, they will discuss price change or other incentives to entice buyers.

Zoom out: "A [national] housing market that for years has been defined by fast sales and few options is starting to look more like it did before the pandemic in terms of competition among buyers and their negotiating power," Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen says.

What's next: Many real estate agents expect competition to heat up once summer vacation ends and kids are back in school.