Homes are sitting longer. That's the headline right now in San Antonio, and if you're paying attention to the market this quarter, it changes how you should be thinking about your next move.
According to what I've pulled from the MLS over the last 60 days, average days on market in Bexar County have climbed to roughly 55 to 60 days. Compare that to spring of 2023, where we were seeing properties go under contract in under 30. That's a real shift. Inventory is up around 25% year over year in most zip codes I work, and new listings keep coming. Sellers who priced aggressively last year are now chasing the market down with reductions.
I think a lot of sellers are still mentally living in 2021. They remember what their neighbor's house sold for three years ago, and they want that number plus a little extra. I get it. But the market doesn't care about what you think your home is worth. It cares about what a buyer with today's interest rate is willing to pay. And with rates hovering near 7%, buyers are doing math differently. Monthly payments matter more than sale price in a lot of conversations I'm having.
For buyers, this is the best position you've been in since before the pandemic. You can negotiate again. Inspection repairs, closing cost contributions, rate buydowns. I had a buyer last month on the far northwest side get $12,000 in seller concessions on a home listed at $340,000. That wasn't possible 18 months ago.
For sellers, the play right now is pricing right from day one. Overpricing and waiting for offers doesn't work in a market with this much inventory. The homes I'm seeing move fast are the ones that come in at or slightly below comparable sales, staged well, with solid photography. The ones that sit? They started too high. Every time.
Prices haven't crashed. Median sale price is still up slightly year over year, somewhere around 2% in most areas I track. This isn't a correction. It's a rebalancing. Buyers have options, sellers have to compete, and agents who aren't adjusting their strategy are doing their clients a disservice.
If you're thinking about making a move this quarter, I'd rather have that conversation now than after you've already listed or already lost a deal. Shoot me a message.