Published October 3, 2026 in Market Update

More than half of sellers here paid money back at closing

By Connie Roller

Real estate, res standard export

Most sellers focus on the sale price. They watch the offer come in, they see it hit their number, and they feel good. What nobody talks about is what happens between the accepted offer and the closing table. I pulled every listing in this market through October 1, 2026, and what I found is worth knowing before you pick a price or sign a contract.

The number that does not show up in the headlines

Of the 69 homes that sold here, 37 sellers paid money back to the buyer at closing. That is 53.6%. The typical amount was $8,500. That is not a rounding error. That is a real check written in the opposite direction.

Here is the part that surprises people. Three homes sold at or over their asking price and still paid back $20,000 or more. One home sold for $535,000, above what the seller asked, and then paid $28,000 back. The sale price said one thing. The closing said another.

A price that looks strong can still cost you money before you leave the closing table. This happens when a buyer uses an inspection, an appraisal gap or a repair credit to claw back dollars after the offer is signed. The number on the contract is not the number you take home.

The overall market looks healthy at first glance. The middle sold price was $695,000. Homes sold in a typical 12 days. The sale price was 99.9% of the last asking price. Not one home came off the market without selling. Those are real and good numbers. But none of them tell you about the $8,500 that quietly left 37 sellers' pockets.

Three things I would do differently if I were selling here now

First, I would price with the concession in mind. If the typical seller here pays back $8,500, I would treat that as a real cost and price accordingly. A seller who ignores this and prices to the penny often ends up giving it back anyway, just at the worst moment.

Second, I would list sooner rather than later. The typical home that sold in the first month got 100% of what it first asked. The typical home that took a second month got only 95.8% of what it first asked. That is a 4.2 percentage point gap just from waiting. And right now, 53.8% of the 26 homes for sale have already dropped their price, with a typical cut of $40,550. The longer a home sits, the more it costs.

Third, I would watch the price range carefully. Homes that first asked $750,000 to $800,000 sold in a typical 6 days and got 99.2% of what they first asked. Homes that first asked $550,000 to $700,000 took 20 days and got 97.5%. Knowing where your home sits in this market changes how you set the price and how you handle an offer.

What this means for you, whether you are selling or buying

If you are selling, the concession is the cost most people do not plan for. Build it into your math before you list. The typical home that sold in the first month here got 100% of what it first asked. Homes that sat longer gave back 4.2 percentage points on the sale price. Price it right the first time and you keep more of both.

If you are buying, you have more room to negotiate than the sale price alone suggests. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.28% as of October 1, 2026, up from 6.34% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey. That rate makes every dollar of concession worth asking for. More than half of sellers here paid one. Asking is not unreasonable. It is what more than half of buyers in this market already did.