With limited inventory and rising home prices dominating the national housing market in recent years, plenty of home sellers have been delighted to see offers come in that exceed their list price. However, a recent analysis by the real estate site Zillow said this trend is becoming less pronounced as price growth slows.

Looking at 50 major metropolitan areas around the United States, Zillow found that about one in five homes sold in these markets in 2019—19.9 percent—went to buyers who paid more than what the seller initially asked. This was down from 21.5 percent in 2018.

The report says the share of homes selling above list price hit its lowest point since 2016, snapping a four-year streak where the share of buyers paying more than the seller's list price increased from the previous year. Zillow says this coincides with a year of slower home price growth that is more in line with historic norms as well as annual wage growth.

Buyers who purchased a home above list price paid a median of $5,100 more than the seller's initial price. This premium was down from $5,500 in the previous year.

"The housing market took a breather in 2019, after years of red-hot sellers' markets," said Jeff Tucker, a Zillow economist. "Many sellers were caught off-guard by the changing conditions, and ended up accepting offers at or below list prices that were dreamed up during the height of the frenzy. But the cloudy outlook for sellers began to clear late in the year after inventory buildups in several cities were whittled back down to record lows, suggesting a hot spring sellers' market is around the corner. Sellers hoping to cash in and upgrade should proceed with care, however, as the same tight conditions that may drive up their sale price will be facing them on the other side when they look to buy their next home."

Some markets continued to be highly competitive, especially the Bay Area in California. A total of 48.6 percent of sales in San Francisco were above list price in 2019, with a median premium or $37,500. However, this was down considerably from 2018, when 61.1 percent of sales were above list price with a median premium of $50,000. In San Jose, 38.8 percent of sales were above list price with a median premium of $41,000 – plummeting from 2018, when 63.6 percent of sales were above list price and buyers paid a median of $101,000 more than a seller's initial price.

Other markets where the share of sales above list price considerably exceeded the national level included Boston (34.7 percent), Minneapolis-St. Paul (34.3 percent), and Seattle (31.2 percent). Metro areas in the report with the smallest share of sales above list price included Miami (8.9 percent), Las Vegas (12.6 percent), and Tampa (13.3 percent).