Prices decline in 36 of the 50 largest metros
Median price per square foot drops 1.8% in August
San Francisco Bay Area down 3.9%
Austin posts steepest decline at 8.1%
Home sellers across much of the country are cutting asking prices as the housing market continues to cool heading into the fall, with some of the sharpest declines occurring in cities that experienced dramatic price increases during the pandemic.
Citing a recent analysis by Realtor.com, USA Today reported that the nationwide median listing price per square foot fell 1.8% in August from a year earlier.
It marked the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year declines, providing further evidence that the housing market is gradually normalizing after several years of unusually strong price growth.
Prices declined in three of the nationโs four regions. The Northeast recorded the steepest drop at 3.6%, followed by the South at 2.6% and the West at 2.1%. Prices in the Midwest were unchanged from a year earlier.
Among the nationโs 50 largest metropolitan areas, 36 reported year-over-year declines in median listing price per square foot.
Higher mortgage rates and growing housing inventory are among the major forces behind the trend. With elevated borrowing costs and still-high home prices squeezing affordability, buyers have become more selective, forcing sellers to become more realistic about their asking prices.
Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, said many of the markets experiencing the largest declines โ including Austin, Tampa, San Antonio and Denver โ were among the biggest beneficiaries of the 2020-2022 pandemic-era housing boom.
Many of those markets now also have significantly more homes for sale than they did before the pandemic.
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area in Texas posted the largest decline, with the median listing price per square foot falling 8.1% from a year earlier.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater in Florida followed with a 5.6% decline, while Memphis dropped 4.1%.
In California, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area fell 3.9%, the fourth-largest decline among the major metropolitan areas included in the analysis.
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad recorded a 2.7% decline, ranking eighth.
Other markets among the 10 biggest decliners included San Antonio at 3.6%, Denver at 3.4%, Baltimore at 3.2%, Orlando at 2.6% and Portland at 2.4%.
Not every housing market is losing ground, however. Providence, Rhode Island, recorded the largest increase, with its median listing price per square foot jumping 9.3% from a year earlier. Indianapolis gained 4.4%, while Chicago rose 3.6%.
Housing experts say continued price corrections in cities that experienced some of the biggest pandemic-era gains could give buyers more negotiating power this fall.
After years in which sellers largely dictated prices and terms, the balance in many markets is gradually shifting toward buyers.
