Home buyers find seller incentives as purchase market slows

Many recent sellers appear willing to offer homebuyer incentives, prioritizing certainty and their goals of making a timely deal over maximizing profit, according to a new report from Zillow. 

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Approximately two-thirds of sellers covered some or all closing costs in their 2025 transactions, the real estate platform said in its new consumer housing trends report for agents.

Similarly, one in three confirmed that they offered a rate buydown, while the same share indicated they wanted to complete the sale in their intended time frame even if it meant less profit. 

Zillow’s findings correspond to other recent research showing sellers outnumbering buyers, leading to more perks and favorable conditions for the latter at the end of this year. In addition to the greater likelihood for incentives, the shift to a buyer’s market brought about softening growth in property values throughout 2025, with the pace of appreciation lagging historical averages, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Index. 

Even though slowing has led some sellers to pull their homes off the market in hopes of better conditions in the spring, sufficient supply remains to maintain a degree of appreciation around the U.S. 

More informed and ‘intentional’ consumers today

These recent trends suggest consumers, whether buying or selling, are doing their research beforehand and entering the housing market “informed and intentional” about their choices, Zillow said. 

“Repeat buyers now make up the majority of today’s market, and they’re coming back with a very different mindset than they had even a few years ago,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert, in a press release. 

Having lived through multiple cycles, many in the market today are paying close attention to not just prices and rates, but also public policy that could influence their ability to afford housing, mortgage leaders recently said. 

Repeat buyers account for 55% of all homebuyers by Zillow’s estimates, bringing their experience, expectations and a more deliberate approach to the process, including being  “intentional about who they hire,” Pendleton noted. 

Consumers are more digitally savvy today and conducting their own research, the real estate platform said elsewhere in the report. Thirty-six percent of sellers said they chose their preferred agent after searching online compared to 15% in 2018. 

Meanwhile, one-third of buyers are also going digital when considering who they might wish to work with. Close to 50% of repeat buyers said they often narrowed their shortlist of real estate agents through online research.