Nearly half of home sellers are now offering incentives to unload their properties—even $20,000 in concessions and all-expenses-paid cruises

One real estate agent in Atlanta offered their client a free week-long vacation in an Airbnb owned by the home’s seller as part of a home-buying deal. Another in Charlotte, North Carolina offered an all-expenses-paid cruise.

As the buyer’s market continues, home sellers have had to get creative in incentivizing their sales, and it’s led to some of the highest rates of concessions in years, new Redfin data shows. A recent report from the brokerage and property search platform—which employs the two agents offering the unique concessions—found home sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of home sales in the U.S. in August, a 2.1 percentage-point year-over-year increase, and the highest share in August since at least 2020. 

This uptick in concessions is correlated with the strongest ever buyer’s market, with sellers outnumbering buyers by 58% in August, according to Redfin data, the largest gap in the brokerage’s records.

As mortgage rates near 7%, home buyers become wary of borrowing costs, reducing demand for homes. But buyers still in the market also face less competition, and with more sellers entering the market, those prospective homeowners are able to negotiate better terms, including........

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