Market Moves, Sellers Slash Prices

For months, market conversations in Greenville have been dominated by two themes: picky buyers and stubbornly high mortgage rates. But beneath the noise, one shift has quietly become impossible to ignore: sellers are cutting prices at levels not seen since the most turbulent days of post-pandemic adjustment. And while “price drops” may not sound thrilling at first pass, the numbers behind them reveal exactly how dramatically buyer behavior has changed.

This moment in the market is less about panic and more about recalibrating expectations. Sellers are making moves, buyers are demanding more value, and together those forces are creating a very different landscape than the one Greenville grew accustomed to over the past few years.

Price Drop Trends: Market Moves, Sellers Slash Prices

When looking at pricing trends over the past six years, the pattern is unmistakable. As the broader market shifts, one metric captures the story better than almost any other: how often sellers feel compelled to cut their asking price. And right now, that trend tells buyers and sellers everything they need to know about why the market moves; sellers' slashing dynamic has become the new normal.

How Price Drops Behaved Before the Pandemic

Years before mortgage rates surged or buyers became hyper selective, price drops were already a familiar part of the market. Between 2018 and 2019, more than a third of sold listings dropped their price. Specifically, 34 percent of homes needed at least one reduction before landing a buyer. The median cut came in at ten thousand dollars, giving sellers a cushion without derailing their sale.

The following year, running from 2019 into early 2020, price drops crept slightly higher to nearly 37 percent. Rates were rising at the time, which pushed some buyers back to the sidelines and forced certain sellers to adjust their expectations. Even so, the median price cut remained steady at ten thousand dollars, suggesting the market was softening but still balanced.

The Wild Years: When Price Drops Nearly Disappeared

Once the pandemic housing frenzy hit, normal rules went out the window. From 2021 through early 2022, price drops plummeted to just over 16 percent. The small number of sellers who did reduce their price tended to make bigger cuts, with a median drop of fifteen thousand dollars, largely because higher-priced homes were moving quickly and skewing the math.

But the real story was demand. Homes sold instantly, bidding wars drove sale prices over the list, and buyers had little room to negotiate. In that environment, price reductions became almost unnecessary. (It was the real estate version of clearing your throat in a crowded room and receiving six offers.)

Rates Jump, Buyers Pull Back, and Price Drops Return

When mortgage rates surged in 2022, everything changed. From 2022 to early 2023, the percentage of sold listings with price cuts shot up to nearly 40 percent, marking one of the sharpest increases Greenville had seen. Median price drops surged as well, hitting nineteen thousand three hundred ninety-five dollars. Not only were sellers cutting prices more often, but they were also having to cut deeper.

The sample size for that period also returned to pre-pandemic norms, suggesting demand fell enough for price reductions to reveal the market’s true footing again.

The Last Six Months: A Market That Has Resettled

Over the most recent six-month period, price drops have settled almost exactly where they landed the year before. Roughly 40 percent of sold homes reduced their price, and the median drop now sits at fifteen thousand five hundred dollars.

This puts today’s market squarely in the territory of elevated seller adjustments, but without the panic or dramatic swings of earlier years. Instead, it reflects a steady and predictable trend: sellers who overreach get corrected by buyers who no longer feel pressured to rush.

Why Buyers Have Become So Selective

Greenville’s buyer pool may be active, but it is also more particular than ever. Buyers now scrutinize neighborhood feel, cosmetic details, floor plans, yard quirks, and even minor household smells. Some objections are grounded in taste, others in misconceptions, but together they signal the same thing: value matters now in ways it didn’t during the frenzy.

A long list of recent buyer comments illustrates the shift. Homes described as “overpriced,” “too small,” “dated,” or even “the ceiling feels low” are common. Some feedback has bordered on humorous, like rejecting properties due to imagined smoke smells or wildlife sightings that come with any established backyard. (Apparently, even squirrels are now dealbreakers.)

It is not that buyers have become unreasonable for the sake of it. Their skepticism is rooted in the new math of affordability.

The Affordability Story Behind Pickiness

A household that bought a home for about two hundred thousand dollars in 2020 likely enjoyed an interest rate below four percent. Today, moving to a home in the low to mid three hundred thousand dollar range requires a mortgage closer to seven percent. That upgrade can add roughly fifteen hundred dollars per month.

A cost jump of that size makes buyers deeply cautious. No one wants to pay significantly more for what feels like a lateral move. That pressure drives selectiveness and heightens expectations. (If the monthly jump feels like a second car payment, buyers want the new house to feel like a second home upgrade.)

Why Sellers Are Struggling to Price Correctly

Pricing has been difficult for sellers as well. Many neighborhoods lack fresh comparable sales after years of thin inventory. Sellers remember stories from the 2020 through 2022 boom and often hope those conditions still apply. Some agents overinflate suggested list prices to win listings, while others struggle to convince clients that market conditions have shifted.

The result is predictable. Homes listed too high tend to sit, then require price drops, and ultimately risk selling for less than they would have if priced correctly from the start.

There is a reason 40 percent of sellers end up reducing their price: the market now demands accuracy rather than optimism.

How to Think About Pricing in This Market

A realistic pricing strategy can make the difference between joining the 60 percent that sell without reductions and joining the 40 percent that must adjust downward. When a home has a comp-supported range, listing in the middle or on the lower end often creates stronger demand, avoids stagnation, and reduces skepticism.

Overpricing can trigger a chain reaction: weeks of low activity, pressured reductions, and finally a low offer that feels unavoidable. Underpricing tends to correct itself through buyer competition. Overpricing tends to punish.

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Bottom Line

Price drops have become a defining feature of Greenville’s market once again. Nearly 40 percent of recently sold listings required reductions, and buyers’ heightened selectiveness continues to shape outcomes across the board. Sellers who price strategically remain at a strong advantage, while buyers willing to navigate the market’s quirks often uncover opportunities that did not exist even a year ago.

The market isn’t weakening as much as it’s resetting. And in that reset, things get clearer: accurate pricing, realistic expectations, and the ability to adapt matter more now than at any time since the pandemic boom.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville