Open up a home search, and you'll spot them right away. Some homes have been sitting on the market for two months, three months, or even longer.

Most buyers scroll right past those homes, assuming there must be something wrong with them. But that assumption could cause you to miss out because the longer a home sits on the market, the more motivated the seller often becomes.

Where Some Buyers Are Finding Better Deals

If affordability has been your biggest hurdle to buying, try a simple strategy: focus on the homes that have been on the market the longest. Those listings often hold the best deals and could help you get your foot in the door.

Here’s why. Data from Realtor.com shows a clear connection between how long a home stays on the market and what it ultimately sells for. In general, the longer a house sits, the more likely the seller is to lower the price to attract buyers (see graph below).

The blue line shows how long homes are staying on the market, while the green line shows how many homes are getting price cuts. As one goes up, the other tends to rise right along with it.

If you pay attention to the homes that are just sitting and waiting, the opportunity for you right now might be larger than you realize.

According to Redfin data, there’s currently $347 billion worth of homes sitting on the market longer than expected, the highest amount for this time of year. That’s why it’s worth asking your agent to sort listings from oldest to newest. The right home for your budget could already be out there, just a little farther down the list than you expected.

Lingering Doesn’t Always Mean Something’s Wrong

Let’s say you do that and something catches your eye. You might still wonder why it’s been sitting on the market for a while. But keep in mind, there are times when it has nothing to do with the home itself.

According to Redfin, there are a few common reasons this happens:

The home may have been priced too high from the start
The listing photos or online presentation didn’t stand out
There are so many homes for sale in the area that it simply got overlooked

So it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker or even something wrong with the home itself. If there is a real issue, a proper inspection will usually uncover it, and that’s actually something you can use when negotiating. It’s not a reason to automatically skip the house.

How To Turn a Lingering Listing into a Win

So how do you take advantage of a listing that’s been on the market a while? USA Today says you’ve got two main options to consider.

The first thing to focus on is price. Work with your agent to look at what similar homes have recently sold for, then use that to shape your offer. If a home has been sitting on the market, offering below the asking price is often completely reasonable.

The second thing to consider is concessions. If a seller isn’t willing to move much on price, they might still be open to helping in other ways, such as covering part of your closing costs, offering repair credits, or even buying down your mortgage rate to lower your monthly payment.

A local agent knows the market well enough to help you spot which homes are real opportunities and which ones are better to skip.