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Australian PM says OpenAI took 84 days to email agency after agent hacked its national health care portal — incident is believed to be the first known case of AI breaching a government site
Australia has ordered an “urgent and immediate review” after saying an OpenAI agent discovered a way around blocks on its Medicare statistics portal, BBC News reported. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at the UN General Assembly in New York, referring to a hack that happened in June. OpenAI became aware of the hack in August but did not report it to the government agency’s public inbox until September.
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Why So Many Sellers Are Cutting Their Price Right Now
Price cuts are turning up everywhere right now, and they read very differently depending on which side of the deal you’re on.
Sellers tend to worry a cut means walking away with less than they hoped. Sometimes that’s true, but more often it just means the market moved faster than the listing did.
Buyers, for their part, often assume a cut means something’s wrong with the house. Most of the time, that’s not it.
This is what’s actually driving all those price cuts, and why it matters no matter which side of the deal you’re on.
42% of Homes for Sale Are Now Carrying a Price Cut
According to HousingWire Data, the share of sellers cutting their asking price has climbed every month for 7 straight months (see chart below):
Today, more than 4 in 10 active listings have had at least 1 price cut, and the typical seller is cutting about $17,560 off their original number.
Here’s why that’s happening. With rates still elevated and more homes to choose from, buyers can afford to wait for the right number. So, sellers who don’t start there often end up adjusting anyway.
What does that mean for you?
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If you’re selling, this isn’t a red flag. But it is a sign that pricing it right from day 1 is your best bet. Just know that the market’s been shifting fast enough this year that sometimes even a well-priced house can fall behind within a matter of weeks. If that happens to you, dropping your price to catch up to where pricing actually stands today tends to bring in more buyers and helps you sell closer to true market value.
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If you’re buying, it’s easy to assume a price cut means something’s wrong with the house. But with cuts happening on more than 4 in 10 homes right now, the reality is sellers are just catching up to where the market already is. And with affordability still tight, that’s exactly the kind of opening you need to get a better deal.
Why Sellers Are Adjusting Faster than Before
HousingWire Data also shows list prices are trending down nationally. That’s often a sign sellers are pricing more realistically from the start instead of listing high and getting stuck cutting later. List prices have fallen about $26,000 from last year’s peak.
Some of that decline is seasonal, since list prices typically soften each winter before rebounding in the spring. So, expect asking prices to keep drifting a little lower before turning back around (see chart below):
Jake Krimmel, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, explains:
“That is good news for buyers, who are seeing lower asking prices and more room to negotiate, but it is also good news for sellers: Pricing to today’s demand is helping homes move and keeping more transactions alive in a high-rate environment.”
Translation – with rates still elevated, buyers can only stretch so far. Sellers who meet them where they are instead of holding out for unrealistic prices are the ones actually getting to closing. And doing that up front is always better than chasing the market later.
Buyers, You’ve Got Room To Negotiate Again
At the same time, Redfin data shows sellers now outnumber buyers by about 58%, the widest gap on record (see chart below):
That changes the power dynamics of the market – and impacts how homeowners should price their house. Nationally, about 7 in 10 markets now favor buyers or are trending that way.
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For sellers, that means standing out matters as much as pricing. With more homes to choose from, buyers are comparing you directly against the competition. So, a little flexibility, like covering closing costs or being open on timing, can be what gets your house picked over another.
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For buyers, it means more room to ask for a lower price, help with closing costs, repairs after inspection, or some combination of all 3. That’s especially true for homes that have already sat for weeks, where sellers are often the most willing to talk.
Bottom Line
Price cuts are a normal part of today’s housing market, and both buyers and sellers can use them to their advantage. Connect with a local real estate agent to look at what’s actually happening with prices in your neighborhood, so you know exactly where you stand before you list or make an offer.
There Are 4 Types of Housing Markets Right Now. Which 1 Are You In?
Today’s housing market splits into four distinct types. You’ve got cash buyers, buyers financing a purchase, owners who feel locked into a low rate, and builders with homes to sell. Which type you’re in changes how you should buy or sell. Ryan Serhant, CEO of SERHANT agrees:
“There is no longer a housing market . . . There are four Americas.”
Here’s what each looks like, and what it means for you.
Cash Buyers: 1 in 4 Buyers Are Paying with Cash
If you already own a home, you may be able to buy your next place in cash thanks to your equity. In fact, 26% of existing home sales this summer were all-cash, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That’s roughly 1 in 4 buyers skipping a home loan entirely.
Data from Realtor.com shows most are at the very top and very bottom of the market by price point (see graph below):
For Buyers: If you’re able to buy in cash too, having no financing contingency means your offer is going to look really appealing to sellers. You may get a faster close and more room to negotiate.
For Sellers: A cash offer can mean less risk of the deal falling through, but that certainty sometimes comes with a lower number attached. Compare the whole picture before deciding it’s automatically your best offer.
Buyers Using Financing: They’re Not Getting Help from Rates, But They Are from Sellers
If you’re looking to take out a mortgage, you should know mortgage rates aren’t likely to come down anytime soon. Data from Fannie Mae shows nearly half of experts actually raised their long-term rate forecast this year (see graphs below):
That’s tough for homebuyers relying on a mortgage, especially first-time buyers. But it’s not all bad news.
While buyers may not be getting the lower rates they want, at least there’s help to be had if you ask sellers for what you really need. Redfin data shows almost half of May sales included a concession like a rate buydown or closing-cost credit from the homeowner.
For Buyers: Stop waiting on rates to drop. Negotiate the concession instead. If the payment works today, that’s your signal.
For Sellers: Expect to negotiate. Build a concession into your pricing strategy from the start could be the thing that gets a deal done.
Rate-Locked Homeowners: Most Are Sitting on a Rate Below 5%
If you own a home already, you might not want to move and take on a higher rate than the one you’ve got. That’s the case for a lot of people. About 2 in 3 homeowners have a mortgage rate under 5%, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) data (see graph below).
When a homeowner has a rate that low, it’s harder for them to want to move and leave behind that ultra-low rate. Because, they’d likely have to take on a higher one on their next home. Hence “rate locked” – they feel locked in.
And, according to Fannie Mae data, most experts think that lock-in will stick around another 3-5 years. That means this will continue to be a factor in how many homes come up for sale.
For Buyers: Fewer homeowners are listing, but the ones who do usually have a real reason to move. They’re often more flexible, motivated sellers.
For Sellers: Run the math on what your equity actually buys before ruling out a move. Got an FHA or VA loan? Ask about making it assumable. It’s rare, but it’s a real selling point.
Homebuilders: They’re Negotiating More Than You Think
If you’re looking at new construction, this might be your moment. According to the latest Census data, builders have more unsold new homes sitting around than usual, enough that it would take nearly 10 months to sell them all at the current pace (well above the normal 4-6 months pace). That’s pushing builders toward price cuts and rate buydowns.
For Buyers: That’s where the deals are right now. Just be sure to use your own agent and compare the whole incentive package, not only the price tag.
For Sellers: Lead with what a builder can’t offer – mature landscaping, an established neighborhood, and a house that’s ready today, not in 8 months. That can help your house seem like a better optiona
Bottom Line
Four different housing markets are running at once: cash buyers, financed buyers, locked-in owners, and builders. Each one plays by its own rules, and the right move for one is exactly the wrong move for another.
Connect with a local real estate agent to figure out which one you’re actually in and build your next move from there.
I cleared out my elderly neighbor’s townhouse to sell it. Here’s how I dealt with mountains of stuff
When my elderly neighbor, who I’ll refer to as Susan, moved to assisted living following a bad fall, her niece reached out to discuss the sale of Susan’s Carroll Gardens townhouse; a home that had been in their family for nearly a century.
As the owner’s friend and neighbor, and a real estate agent at CORE, I was happy to help. I agreed to swing by the house to meet with the niece and her husband, trustees of the estate, while they assessed the condition of a home they had not been invited inside for years.
The couple, we’ll call them Terri and Jim, expressed different priorities. He wanted to sell the property “as is” without removing any of the copious personal contents from Susan’s long life.
“It’s a gutter,” he said. “Let the buyer deal with the junk.”
Terri said she wanted “to do right by” her aunt, and was looking for advice. She needed to sell, but how to get from here to there was overwhelming to her. “Please, take anything you can use! There’s so much good stuff.” She held up a shirt to show me. “You’d look cute in this!’ she said.
[Editor’s Note: Brick Underground’s Inside Stories feature first-person accounts of interesting, real-life New York City real estate experiences. Have a story to share? Drop us an email. We respect all requests for anonymity.]
Nudging aside piles of clothes, linens and pillows, I found a small patch of bedspread where I parked myself as I met with them. There were dusty photos, scattered broaches, and an old rabbit-eared tv within my immediate sight. The rest of the three-story, two-family townhouse was equally cluttered with possessions from generations that lived there over the years.
The sale would pay for Susan’s assisted living, and the trustees were anxious to dispose of the property as quickly as possible. As retired snowbirds managing two homes in two states, the responsibility of executing this additional transaction was daunting.
Earning their trust
Susan, who recently turned 90, had been my neighbor for a dozen years. I’ve known her since before I was married and became a mom. My daughter and I would visit with her as she swept her stoop, or painted her fence, wearing one of her signature floral housecoats—she had about 30 of them.
We endured the covid pandemic together and had watched our Carroll Gardens neighborhood transform: Whole Foods arrived, landmark businesses shuttered, and a waterfront promenade rose on the banks of the Gowanus. I wanted to do right by her too.
I had relevant experience: I had dissolved two estates for my own aging family members and brokered an estate purchase on the Upper West Side. I presented Terri and Jim with an offer.
“If you sell this home without emptying, staging and photographing it properly, you will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table at sale,” I explained. “I’ll make it easy for you to say yes. Take what you want and leave the rest to me.”
They agreed.
Clearing the cache
From my work as an agent, I know that major life transitions don’t always line up with market trends. It’s a tough market for unrenovated properties, and yet demand for services involved in preparing an estate sale in NYC are on the rise.
According to Attom Data, transactions involving trusts jumped 17 percent in three years accounting for approximately 28 percent of Manhattan sales in 2024. Property Shark reported that 38 percent of all NYC real estate is owned by seniors, 65 years and older. And NAR noted that failing to declutter a property for sale costs sellers an average of three times the days-on-market and up to 10 percent of the sale price.
Entire industries have cropped up around estate-turnovers: junk removers, salvage and consignment shops, and non-profit organizations have moved mountains of once-loved furniture, clothing, technology and household items from NYC estates into the local community, and unfortunately, into landfills.
A two-week deadline
I gave myself two weeks to clear the house, scheduling repairs, cleaning, photography, and listing activation to keep me on task. Once every drawer had been opened, cabinet scoured, and closet overturned, I bid out the job of “junking” it all to three local businesses who came back with comparable quotes—all in the $5,000 range.
That felt steep and the waste was a bit heartbreaking, so I challenged myself to rehome as much of it as possible, aspiring to keep the gently used household goods out of a landfill. How many free donation pickups could I arrange without losing valuable time? It was worth a try, and the results surprised me.
How to give things away
I turned to Facebook Marketplace, BoCoCa’s Buy Nothing group, Etsy creators, Ebay collectors, and even passers-by to move truckloads of stuff to anyone who could pick up. Individuals, businesses, and non-profits turned up to cart away free items, one-by-one, by the bag, by appointment, and from the curb.
A five-piece, mid-century bedroom suite went to a Park Slope neighbor who figured the cost of renting a U-haul to move it was worth the two-hour investment. A seven-piece dining set appealed to a Queens-based Facebook Marketplace shopper, though getting it out through the window proved to be a feat of amateur engineering. A garden statue of St. Anthony required two people to carry to the curb, where it attracted the attention of a local photographer before disappearing under cover of night. I later found a black-and-white photo of my client’s father posed beside the statue, bursting with pride.
On Instagram I discovered a Missouri-based Etsy Store that refurbishes and resells wedding fashions. They covered the shipping for a 1950s wedding dress and beaded headpiece. An Ebay seller came to collect a vintage army uniform. A kitchen table and appliances were re-homed by CHIPS. Pounds of clothes, linens, purses and shoes were collected by St. Mary’s clothing drive. An antique radio credenza was repurposed for an Alexis Bittar commercial. Religious relics, dishes, cookware and utensils, card tables and games, power tools, grill and more moved swiftly out of the home and into the community.
Setting up an on-site office made things infinitely easier. I greeted pickup appointments and groused at the ghosters and flakes. Yes, the flake-rate was high. If you’re doing something similar, set your expectations accordingly and advertise as a “first-come, first-served” operation. It’s wild to discover how many people will actively engage with you on Facebook Marketplace and then never show.
The bulk of the estate found new homes across the neighborhood where my client’s family set down roots and lived out generations. When I close my eyes, I can picture her floral housecoats peppering the landscape of BoCoCa’s stoop sweepers, her armoire storing costumes at a Greenpoint community theatre, her holiday decorations rewarding students in district elementary schools, and on and on.
Reaping rewards
In the end, Junkluggers carted away 1.5 trucks worth of stuff, instead of the six originally estimated, of obsolete technology, a defunct bar fridge, some broken irreparable furnishings, opened pantry items, and hazardous waste (like paint cans and unlabeled cleaners).
Dissolving a few estates has taught me the benefit of re-homing gently used things. The effort is rewarded not only in dollars; it expanded my community, introducing me to local organizers, volunteers, artists, designers, teachers, residents, and business owners.
The house went to market on schedule and was under contract within two weeks. It sold for more than $2 million—all cash—because once the property was cleared, buyers could easily see its potential.
By thrift and resourcefulness, collaboration and expertise, I helped secure my client’s future, breathed new life into treasured possessions, and deepened my appreciation for this unique place, where one person’s collection of “junk” finds its way to a hundred to treasure it.
Upgrade your gaming experience with this 27-inch Acer 1440p 270Hz panel that’s an incredible 45% off — just $179 buys an awesome IPS monitor with AMD FreeSync Premium and 1ms response time
While RAM, video cards, and storage have become the most expensive parts of a PC build or upgrade, monitors haven’t really flinched price-wise. They can still offer a tangible upgrade, whether for gaming or productivity, for your PC. After all, you are staring at it the entire time you use your PC. Acer is currently offering an incredible deal on the Nitro (XV270U). Just $179 (a whopping 45%/$150 off the $239.99 MSRP) buys a 27-inch 2560×1440 IPS panel with a wicked-fast 270 Hz refresh rate without breaking the bank.
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