In a seller's market, homeowners with a home to sell don't have to offer much to lure interested buyers. Just having an available house can be enough. That's generally been the case for the past few years, with the number of homes for sale lower than normal and buyer demand high. These days, though, market dynamics are changing and so are the number of concessions being offered by sellers. Concessions are when a home seller helps a buyer with closing costs to reduce the amount of upfront money needed to close the deal. And according to one recent analysis, they're on the rise. In fact, the number of sellers offering concessions has increased 17 percent year-over-year, from 25.5 percent of sellers last year to 42.9 percent through the three months ending in April. But home buyers should know – while the numbers show concessions up significantly from last year – they've been trending downward since February, as buyers returned to the market after a slow winter.
