How to read price reductions

CALHOUN, Ga. A price reduction, in our figures, means the original list price was higher than the final list price on a home that closed. We report the share of closings that had one. We do not have the dollar size of each cut, and we do not have seller concessions or closing-cost credits, so we never estimate them.

A high share does not by itself mean prices are falling. It often means homes were listed above what buyers would pay and then corrected. Read it next to the median sale price and the sale-to-list ratio.

This month's example

In October, Gordon County had the highest price-cut share among counties with at least 30 closings: 61.4% of sales, against 38.5% over its last 12 months and 43.3% across the FMLS footprint.

Even so, the median Gordon County sale closed at 99.2% of its final list price, which is why the two numbers belong together.