Buyers have little incentive to lead the way.

According to Freddie Mac, they are battling high home prices and rising mortgage rates, which rose to 6.32 per cent on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the week ending 16 February.

Meanwhile, home sellers - who only a year ago enjoyed crowded open houses and bidding wars - are now struggling to stand out from the hordes of home sellers, as the number of homes available for sale jumped 70 per cent in the week ending February 11 compared to the same period last year.

"The market's abrupt correction over the past year has made it harder for all participants to define their boundaries, let alone figure out how to meet in the middle in order to make a deal," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®, in an analysis of housing data for the week ending February 11.

But against a backdrop of soaring inventory and high home prices, another piece of data suggests that some sellers may finally be willing to change their strategy.

"January's data shows that sellers are making price reductions at more than twice the rate they were a year ago," Hale noted. In fact, 15.3% of sellers reduced their prices in January, compared to 6% a year ago.

We'll be analysing the latest housing statistics in the latest edition of "How's the housing market this week?" in which we analyse the latest real estate statistics and explain what it means for homebuyers and sellers.

Despite these price reductions, listing prices are still very high.

In January, they were at a median of $400,000 and in the week ending February 11, they increased by 7.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In addition, mortgage rates remain approximately 2.5 percentage points higher than last year.

This one-two punch of high home prices and mortgage rates has weakened buyer motivation and exacerbated the current real estate stalemate.

"High house prices and mortgage rates require buyers to distort their budgets," explains Hale.

Some homebuyers have given up, leaving the housing stock stale. In the week ending February 11, homes stayed on the market 23 days longer than they did in the same week a year ago.

This is the 29th consecutive week that sales have become more subdued.

In fact, Hale noted that the typical property in 2023 has spent "a dramatic increase in time on the market in recent weeks" compared to 2022.

Meanwhile, sellers have been listing their new homes for sale for 32 weeks, with 13 per cent fewer homeowners listing their homes for sale in the week ending February 11 compared to this week last year.

So, how can buyers and sellers work together to get the market working again?

"Both groups need to adjust their expectations and be aware of the slowing pace of the market," Hale said.

Cash-strapped buyers do have one thing in abundance in the real estate game: the ability to negotiate. Those who seize this advantage can, rather than simply ignore the market, use this dynamic to grab a lower home price to offset high mortgage rates.

At the same time, sellers should gauge the number of homes on the market and, rather than setting a high price and then cutting that number, set a reasonable price for their homes as they enter the multiple listing service - when their listings are fresh and in demand - to catch the eye of buyers from the start.

Hale also notes that today's near-silent, subdued market is not necessarily a bad thing.

"This slower pace of the market is a return to what was normal before the [COVID-19] pandemic," Hale said." And buyers and sellers need to keep that in mind as they enter the housing market this spring."