the chart from redfin shows how higher mortgage rates and a pullback in buyer demand has forced sellers to cut prices to entice bids heres a chart that speaks a thousand words about the state of the realestate market right now the chart above part of a new report by realestate brokerage redfin rdfn on the property market reveals how home sellers are adjusting to the new normal of 7 mortgage rates the chart says that 79 of homes for sale on the market each week had their prices slashed  and thats a record high thats compared to just 4 of homes having their prices reduced each week over the same period a year ago redfins data goes back to 2015 the company averaged out the share of listings which saw a price cut over four weeks to smoothen out any outliers taylor marr deputy chief economist at redfin added that looking over a bigger time period ie a month the companys data shows that a quarter of homes right now are dropping prices we have never been this high marr told marketwatch in an interview unlike buyers who are much more sensitive to rising mortgage rates sellers are just slow to react to the changes in demand they set prices based on where they think the market is and are often reluctant to set their prices too low marr said so for sellers prices are a little stickier he added and slower to come down but even if it took a while its finally happening after all mortgage rates are at multidecade highs with the 30year trending steadily above 7 as of friday afternoon according to mortgage news daily and thats likely to go up even more as the 10year treasury note  is trending above 4 meanwhile redfin said that the median home on the market was listed at over 367000 up 7 over last year the monthly mortgage for that home at the current interest rate of 692 according to freddie mac is 2559 a year ago when rates were at 305 that monthly payment wouldve been just 1698 two tips for home buyers struggling with high mortgage rates sellers are dropping their prices by 4 to 5 on average marr said you would almost expect it to be a lot worse he added given how quickly rates rose and eroded buying power but buyers and sellers are also using two different tactics to get some relief on mortgage rates marr said one sellers are reaching out to buyers and offering concessions to buy mortgage rates down in other words sellers are asking buyers to pay the full asking price but proposing to use part of that as a concession to get buyers a lower interest rate on their mortgage which is essentially a price drop marr said its the same thing  but it doesnt necessarily show up in the data and its hard to get a sense of the magnitude of how this is playing out he added how it works is as such marr explained if a buyer is putting down 100000 for a 20 downpayment on their home at a 65 interest rate they can instead allocate 10 for the downpayment and spend the rest of the 50000 buying down the mortgage rate to 5 5 isnt very bad and it might seem like a lot of money but  chances are youre going to be incentivized to refinance in the future and youll have to pay the closing cost on that loan to refinance which could be upwards of 15 grand marr added buyers are also switching to adjustablerate mortgages which offer lower interest rates at the start of the term arms are nearly 12 of overall mortgage applications the mortgage bankers association noted on wednesday which is high as to where prices are falling a couple of places stood out to redfin they said that home prices fell 3 yearoveryear in oakland calif and 2 in san francisco new orleans also saw a 2 drop even in atlanta or orlando were seeing buyers backing out marr observed so with the backdrop of sellers finally dropping listing prices if youre a buyer right now dont be spooked by rising rates and stop looking he advised there have been opportunities when rates really came down and gave buyers the moment to jump back in and get some good deals on homes that did drop their prices he said plus it doesnt hurt to make a low ball offer marr added some sellers are desperate and that can be a good strategy  weve heard from some of our own agents that some buyers are getting incredible deals right now but if you need to rent for a year and wait for things to calm down then do that marr said and bulk up those savings for that dream home got thoughts on the housing market write to marketwatch reporter aarthi swaminathan at aarthimarketwatchcom