09/19/2026
Before I've even opened the front door I usually know whether a seller is going to negotiate. Not from the price. From the little stuff.
Here are the six things I look for at every showing right now that tell me a seller is more motivated than their listing lets on.
1. The house is empty. No furniture, no smell of dinner, an echo in the hallway. That seller is paying a mortgage on this home plus wherever they actually live. Every month it sits costs them real money, and they know it.
2. The photos were taken in a different season. Green grass and blooming bushes in the listing, dead leaves in the yard today. That home has been for sale longer than the fresh label wants you to think. Check the price history. Right now about 1 in 5 listings nationally has already taken a price cut.
3. There's a lockbox and zero showing restrictions. Sellers who need this done let you in anytime. Sellers who aren't in a hurry make you book 24 hours out and work around their schedule.
4. The listing remarks mention "seller credit" or "rate buydown." Nobody offers money before you ask unless they've already lost a buyer or two. In some markets more than half the homes in the mid price range are closing with seller concessions right now.
5. The little repairs never got done. Fresh paint on the walls but a cracked outlet cover, a dripping faucet, a gate that won't latch. That tells me the seller is out of energy or out of budget, and either one makes them easier to work with on repairs.
6. It's been 60 days or more. This is the big one. Median days on market is sitting around 60 nationally. Past that mark, a seller has usually had the hard talk with their agent already. You're not the bad guy for asking. You're the buyer they've been waiting for.
None of this means you lowball. It means you walk in knowing exactly how much room there is before you write a number. That knowledge is worth thousands, and most buyers never look for it.
