Buyers gained leverage as mortgage rates hit a three‑year low
Mortgage rates that slipped to a three‑year low in mid‑January breathed some life back into a sluggish US housing market, offering brokers a modest bump in applications and buyers a rare chance to negotiate.
Redfin reported that pending home sales fell 2.9% year over year in the four weeks ending January 18, the smallest decline in more than a month, while new listings were down just 1.6% over the same period. That's the narrowest drop since November.
Mortgage‑purchase applications rose 5% week over week to their highest level in three years as the average 30‑year fixed rate hovered around 6.06%.
At the same time, homes that did sell still took longer to move. The typical property spent 61 days on the market, a week longer than a year earlier, and just 19.7% sold above list price, with the average sale‑to‑list ratio at 97.8%.
Buyers take their time and push harder
That backdrop left buyers with unusual leverage after years of bidding wars.
“Buyers have much more power than they’ve had over the past few years,” said Ben Ambroch, a Redfin Premier agent in Milwaukee.
“A lot of buyers are giving up a 3% mortgage rate for a 6% rate, so they have high standards for their new home. Buyers are negotiating prices and asking for repairs based on inspections. Sellers are more willing to compromise because listings have been sitting on the market longer; the sellers who need to move are eager to get a deal done.”
Those dynamics echo comments from brokers across the country. Las Vegas loan officer Crystal Schulz previously told Mortgage Professional America that lower rates drew clients “off the fence,” adding that there was “a lot more curiosity in our marketplace and just a lot more people qualifying too.”
From seller’s market to slow‑burn reset
The shift followed a sharp rise in borrowing costs over 2022‑24, which sidelined many first‑time buyers and cooled pandemic‑era price spikes. The market tilted toward buyers as inventory built and days on market lengthened, even while rates remained elevated.
Redfin’s latest figures suggest that moderation, rather than a rapid rebound, defined early 2026. Median sale prices in its dataset rose roughly 1% year over year to about $378,000, while active listings in the four weeks ending January 18 inched 1.4% higher, the smallest increase in more than two years.
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