Another sign the market is becoming more buyer friendly is the amount of price reductions sellers are making to bring their listing in synch with the market. The share of listings that sold after a price reduction last month was 42%. That was in line with reductions made in the last half year. The amount is the telltale data point. Reductions averaged $34,471, which is the highest in the last year.

And the savings to buyers didn’t stop there.

Sellers surrendered another average of $19,739 on a third of last month’s sales. That amount is in the trend ballpark. In January it was $19,285. During the third quarter of last year’s sales slump the average was a little of $23,000.

February’s 95.7% sold to list ratio offers the best trend picture. It has been declining for the last 10 months after peaking at 97.9%.

Despite media reports about inventory being at pre-pandemic levels and increasing it has declined in the Tri-Cities region for the three months. So far this year it’s stuck on a 2.9 months supply. That’s based on the sales pace for January and February.

Inventory growth – like sales – is in somewhat of a malaise over concerns about the on-and-off media reports of tariffs and the effects on housing and the economy. Most homeowners who are locked in by their basement-level mortgage rates responded to a current nation-wide survey that they would be willing to get back in the market when mortgage rates are at 5.5%. Rates are trending lower, but the optimistic outlooks are for an average of 6%. That outlook is optimistic due to the economy’s frothy reaction to the goings on in Washington.

Updated market data show a 5% increase in sales since the first of the month’s number of 440. The median sales price dropped 1.3% to $261,500. The changes account for sales that were not included in the first-of-the month counts.