Seller Concessions in 2025: Real Seller Concession Examples from 60 Closed Transactions

How Often Seller Concessions Actually Showed Up in 2025 Closings

Seller concessions are often discussed in theory. Buyers hear about them. Agents debate when to ask for them. But the more useful question is how often seller concessions actually show up in transactions that close.

To answer that, I reviewed 60 primary residence purchase transactions that closed in Central Iowa in 2025. This was not national data and not a forecast. These were real deals that reached the closing table.

The Transactions Reviewed

All 60 transactions were primary residence purchases. The average loan amount was $227,000, with purchase prices ranging from roughly $125,000 to $700,000. This data was not limited to a single price point or buyer profile.

How Often Seller Concessions Appeared

Out of the 60 transactions reviewed: 

• About 18 percent closed with no seller concessions 

• Just over 80 percent included some level of seller contribution

This does not mean concessions belong in every deal. It simply reflects what actually happened in transactions that closed.

Typical Concession Amounts

For transactions that included seller concessions, the average amount was just over $4,400. When averaged across all 60 deals, including those with zero contribution, the average came out to about $3,600 per transaction.

These were not extreme numbers. They were modest, consistent, and repeatable.

Why Concessions Mattered

In most of these transactions, buyers already qualified from an income and credit standpoint. Where concessions made the biggest difference was cash required at closing.

In a higher rate environment, pressure often shows up at the closing table. Seller concessions frequently reduced that pressure by lowering out of pocket costs without changing underwriting, pricing strategy, or deal fundamentals. They did not replace good structuring. They simply helped transactions execute.

What This Means for Buyers and Agents

Seller concessions appeared across a wide range of price points and buyer scenarios. They were not isolated to one type of deal. While they were not used in every transaction, they were clearly compatible with successful closings.