Various market indicators suggest that sellers are losing power in Massachusetts’ biggest housing markets. The new ban on home inspection waivers could make that worse. iStock illustration
A new state law effectively banning the waiver of home inspections comes after power in the Massachusetts home-sales market spent much of the year ebbing away from sellers.
The law, which went into effect Oct. 15, prohibits sellers or their agents from selling a home on the condition that a buyer waives a home inspection. The law also prevents a seller from accepting an offer that indicates the buyer intends to waive their right to an inspection.
“Overall, I think it’s great for homebuyers” said Shant Banosian, the president of mortgage lender Rate. “It levels the playing field.”
Seller power hit a low this spring.
The total average time that listings spent on the market was up year-over-year, by 25.7 percent for single-families and 25 percent for condominiums in September, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
The year-over-year gains in the median price per square foot of new listings sank below the pace of change in 2024 for extended periods twice this year, according to brokerage Redfin, and ended October up a mere 2.43 percent compared to 5.32 percent at the same point in 2024.
The Boston metro area also saw a small uptick in pending sales that fell out of contract, according to Redfin, although at a much lower rate compared to the rest of the nation: 10 percent in September, up from 9.7 percent in the same month last year. However, the area saw the ninth-lowest rate of cancellations among the 50 most populous U.S. metros.
Shifting Market
Sellers have had the upper hand in most of Massachusetts for years, with waivers of home inspections becoming particularly common in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
“Especially in the Northeast, where inventory has been so tight that [sellers] are in full control of the transaction,” said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. “Home buyers, many have been searching for a long time and there’s so little inventory that they’re at the point where they’re accepting any terms. The problem with that is, if there are conditions unknown to the buyer, they could be in a very difficult situation after they own the home. The cost to repair is so onerous and that would have been considered in the purchase price to begin with.”
Cross Country Mortgage Senior Vice President Andrew Marquis gave an example of two buyers he was working with offering $500,000 over asking price along with no home inspection or mortgage contingency to help their offer stand out.
This fall, the data picture suggests sellers still have power, but less of it than in years past.
Still, Massachusetts only has 2.2 months of single-family inventory and 2.9 months of condominium inventory, according to MAR. Also the 7,750 single-family homes for sale statewide in September was down 4.2 percent on a year-over-year basis but the number of new listings increased by 7.5 percent to 5,594.
In Worcester County, the number of single-family homes for sale (773) increased by 4.3 percent on a year-over-year basis in September while months of supply dropped from 2.3 months in September 2024 to 2.2 in September 2025.
In the five-county Greater Boston area 2,593 new single-family listings hit the market in September, an increase of 7 percent year-over-year according to MAR. In total, 3,842 single-family homes were for sale, down 2.8 percent from September 2024.
Sellers Get More Confidence
The data picture might not be fully conclusive, but buyer behavior indicates Massachusetts becoming more of a buyer’s market, MAR’s 2025 President Sarah Gustafson said.
“There are still homes that will go into multiple offer situations, but you are seeing more homes that are having more days on market and price reductions,” she said. “When you start to see that, then the buyers have a little bit more sway in the market. The sellers who need or want to sell have to adjust and negotiate offers accordingly with buyers that have been watching price drops or longer days on market.”
Sam Lattof
The Boston metro saw an increase in the share of listings with a price cut in September, according to Zillow. The share of single-family and condo listings, combined, with price cuts increased from 21.6 percent in September of 2024 to 24.4 percent.
In the Worcester area, the share increased to 27 percent from 24.5 percent in September of 2024.
Additionally, the Boston metro saw a 1 percent drop in median sale price per square foot ($643) in September while Worcester County saw a 2.5 percent increase ($283), per Zillow.
Buyers are starting to act as if they have the upper hand in negotiations, Cross Country Mortgage’s Marquis said.
“The dynamics in the market keep seeming to shift in favor of the buyer, which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing,” he said. “We see more inventory coming to market. We see rates coming down. We see buyers getting a little bit more choosy, a little bit more deliberate with the process. I think adding the layer of now you have the right to a home inspection, pretty much regardless of anything, I think just continues to bring us more towards equilibrium, which for me is a very good thing.”
It is possible that the new home-inspections legislation could result in less inventory reaching the market, Miller, the appraiser, said. Sellers who previously could have instantly listed their home might opt to put more work into their property.
“A seller may be reluctant to go into the marketplace because they can’t slide the property defects through the process,” Miller said. “So that may reduce some of the inventory that comes into the market, which keeps the market tight, but in some ways, who cares? Because you’re averting bad behavior by a seller or a very difficult situation, being cast over an unsuspecting buyer.”
