Last Updated on November 4, 2025
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, chances are you’ve heard that the real estate market has shifted. But what does that mean and why are we seeing more and more homes sit stagnant, month after month?
To catch you up, here’s a snapshot of what’s happening right now:
Nationally, active listings rose 17% year over year in September—the 23rd straight monthly gain. The typical home sat 62 days on the market (a week longer than last year), and about 1 in 5 listings cut prices. Even so, inventory is still 13.9% below pre-pandemic norms.
Locally, listing inventory rose 25–30% year over year across most submarkets—granting buyers who’ve endured years of limited availability a healthy boost of homes to consider.
While many buyers are still sitting on the sidelines in hopes of lower mortgage rates, we are starting to see more and more discretionary moves. Additionally, many of our markets are currently averaging four months’ supply of inventory, which suggests a balanced market where both sides have leverage, a notable shift from the two-month supply environment we experienced just two years ago.
Now that you’ve gained some insight about how the real estate market is operating right now, here are three of the biggest reasons homes are sitting on the market:
Incorrect price
September marked the 18th month of homes taking longer to sell on a year-over-year basis. Homeowners that are operating like the housing market is still majorly skewed towards sellers and pricing accordingly are presenting their home with a major disadvantage. Today’s market has vastly changed from what it was a year ago and even six months ago.
No longer can you rely on what your neighbor received when they sold in 2023 or 2024, and sellers must price their home according to what the market is doing right now. It’s a delicate balance between arriving at the correct price while being careful not to price your home out of the market.
Here what Howard Hanna Allen Tate President Gary Scott had to say on the art of pricing your home correctly in today’s real estate environment:
Beyond the issue of assigning the incorrect price to your home, sellers that hold out for the “biggest” offer are also at risk for having their home sit quietly on the market. Your home is most attractive to buyers after it first comes to market; that’s when you’ll see the biggest uptick in interest.
Oftentimes, sellers who pass up their first offer, eager to see what else they can recieve, end up regretting it down the line. Keep in mind, the first offer is often the best offer. The longer your home sits–regardless of its condition–the more doubt is created, and buyers are less likely to spend the time to tour your home.
Lack of staging
In the pandemic housing market and the years that followed, inventory was so sparse some sellers opted not to stage their home and still were successful. This strategy is flawed in today’s market and sellers should take every opportunity to position their home in the best possible light.
Curb appeal continues to be of chief importance and should not be ignored, regardless of the season. Interior rooms should be decluttered, as well as all storage spaces. Additionally, it’s wise to stage each and every room in your home, making sure buyers see potential in each space. An empty room can easily be turned into an office, in-home gym or additional seating area. Don’t forget to stage your garage to show off your home’s impressive storage capabilities, too.
Unwillingness to negotiate with buyers
More inventory means more competition for sellers. In a recent study, the latest data shows nearly 45% of sellers are are making concessions, up significantly from 2022, when only 22% of sellers were making concessions. Sellers making concessions are doing so by contributing to closing costs, reducing the asking price, buying down morgage rates, making home repairs and/or offering a home warranty.
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Howard Hanna Allen Tate Real Estate is the #1 real estate company in the Carolinas, with more than 75 offices and 1,800 agents serving communities across North and South Carolina. As part of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the largest family-owned and operated real estate company in the United States, Howard Hanna Allen Tate offers a full suite of real estate services, including mortgage, insurance, title and relocation. For more information, visit www.howardhannatate.com.
