Somersett Housing Market: Buyers Have More Leverage, but Sellers Still Need to Price Carefully

The Somersett housing market is softer than it was a year ago, but it is not a giveaway market for buyers. The clearest pattern this month is that sellers are still listing homes at firm prices, while buyers are pushing back and paying less aggressively. That makes this a more negotiable market than last year, not a true buyer’s market where sellers have no footing. Recent monthly movement mostly supports that same view: activity improved a bit from last month, but not enough to restore broad pricing power.

Buyers are negotiating more successfully. Homes sold for about 97% to 98% of list price in February 2026, down from about 98% to 99% in the same month last year. Sellers are still getting close to asking, but buyers are no longer broadly meeting list prices on the seller’s terms.

Fewer homes are getting immediate traction. About 17% of listings went off market within two weeks in February 2026, down from 42% in February 2025. Buyers have more time to compare options, and sellers have less ability to rely on speed or competition to support a high asking price.

Bidding wars have nearly disappeared. The share of homes selling above list price fell to 0% in February 2026 from 9% a year earlier. Buyers should treat overbidding as the exception, not the rule.

Demand is weaker. Pending sales were about 30, down 9% from the same month last year, and closed sales were about 28, down 13%. With fewer deals getting signed and closed, sellers have less broad pricing power.

Sellers are still testing higher pricing than buyers are validating. Listing price per square foot was about $386, essentially flat from a year ago, while price per square foot in closed sales fell about 11% to roughly $329. That gap shows sellers are launching firmly, but buyers are accepting lower pricing when deals actually happen.

The market showed a modest seasonal pickup, not a major turn. Pending sales rose from 26 in January to 30 in February, and closed sales rose from 25 to 28.

Buyers gained a bit more negotiating room. The average sale-to-list ratio slipped from about 98% in January to about 97% in February, which fits the broader pattern of softer seller leverage.

Sellers kept pushing asking prices higher, but buyers did not follow. Listing price per square foot rose about 4% from January to February, while price per square foot in closed sales fell about 7%.

Some homes moved faster than they did last month, but urgency is still low overall. The share going off market within two weeks rose from 12% to 17%, which is an improvement from January, not a return to last year’s pace.

Stay patient with listings that come out priced like last year’s market is still in place. In Somersett, buyers have more room to negotiate than they did a year ago, and above-list deals have disappeared. If a home does not get quick traction, there is little evidence that you need to chase it.

Move quickly when a home is well-priced and clearly stands out. Even in a cooler market, some listings are still going off market within two weeks. The best homes can still attract attention, so patience helps most on overpriced or stale listings, not on the few that are priced right from the start.

Use actual market results to judge value. Sellers may still be aiming high at launch, but closed deals are landing lower. That makes comparable closed pricing more important than the seller’s opening number when deciding how far to go.

Price for the market you have, not the one you remember from last year. Buyers are still active, but they are more selective, less likely to bid over asking, and more willing to negotiate. If you launch too high, this market gives them room to wait.

Watch the first two weeks closely. In a market where only about 17% of homes are going off market within two weeks, early response matters. Strong traffic and serious interest support your price. Weak response is a warning that buyers do not see enough value yet.

Hold firm only when the listing is getting real traction. Somersett sellers still have some leverage, but it is selective leverage, not broad pricing power. The market is rewarding realistic pricing and exposing wishful pricing.

Somersett still looks like a cooler, more negotiable housing market than it was a year ago. Sellers are still testing firm asking prices, but buyers are still pushing back, especially in closed pricing and in the disappearance of above-list deals.

The most important signal in the next monthly update is pending sales. If pending sales keep improving and start to narrow the gap with the same month last year, that would be the clearest sign that demand is strengthening enough to support home prices. If not, buyers should keep expecting leverage, and sellers should keep expecting to earn their price rather than assume it.