Home prices are no longer climbing everywhere in the United States—across 105 of the nation’s 300 largest housing markets, values are now lower than they were a year ago. For buyers who were priced out during the pandemic boom, this shift marks a meaningful, if uneven, rebalancing of power between buyers and sellers.
How Many Markets Are Seeing Price Drops
Data drawn from the Zillow Home Value Index and compiled by housing analysts show that 105 major metro areas—about 35 percent of the 300 largest U.S. housing markets—have slipped into year-over-year home price declines in the October 2024 to October 2025 window. Earlier in the cycle, that number climbed steadily from just 31 declining markets in early 2024 to as many as 110 by mid-2025, before easing back to the current 105 as inventory growth slowed and some markets stabilized.
This means that while price weakness has become common, it is not yet dominant: roughly two-thirds of large markets still show annual price gains, just at a slower pace than during the pandemic surge. The national picture is therefore best described as a patchwork, with pronounced softness in some regions and ongoing resilience in others.
Where Home Prices Are Falling the Most
The bulk of the 105 declining markets are concentrated in parts of the South and West, especially metros that saw rapid run-ups during 2020–2022 and now face higher mortgage rates and swelling inventories. Florida and Texas feature prominently on the list, along with several markets in California, Colorado and the broader Mountain West.
Sunbelt metros such as Tampa, Austin, Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix and Jacksonville have all posted year-over-year price drops, generally in the low- to mid-single-digit range. Other sizable declines are showing up in Denver, San Diego, Sacramento, Raleigh, Atlanta and New Orleans, as buyers push back against pandemic-era price levels and builders use discounts to move new inventory.
Snapshot of Selected Declining Markets
Metro area
Approx. YoY price change*
Notable drivers of weakness
Tampa, FL
Around −6% to −6.5%
Big run-up in values, rising inventory, high insurance costs
Austin, TX
Roughly −2% to −6% range
Tech slowdown, heavy new-build pipeline, affordability squeeze
Dallas, TX
About −4% to −5%
More listings on market, buyers resisting peak prices
Miami, FL
Around −4% to −5%
Cooling investor demand, higher borrowing costs
Phoenix, AZ
Near −3% to −4%
Post-boom correction, ample new construction supply
Denver, CO
Close to −3%
Affordability strain, growing inventory
San Francisco, CA
Around −3% to −4%
Tech sector volatility, out-migration to cheaper areas
*Ranges reflect year-over-year change estimates cited by multiple 2025 housing analyses using the Zillow Home Value Index and related data.
Why Prices Are Softening in These Metros
Several forces are combining to push prices down in these 105 markets, starting with the sharp rise in mortgage rates that has eroded what buyers can afford on a monthly basis. When financing costs rise faster than incomes, demand naturally cools, forcing sellers to cut asking prices or offer concessions to close deals.
At the same time, inventory has risen back toward or above 2019 levels in many of the softest markets, particularly in Sunbelt states that saw aggressive building during the boom. Homebuilders in places like Texas, Florida and parts of Colorado have responded with rate buydowns, closing credits and direct price cuts on new homes, putting competitive pressure on existing sellers in those same metros.
Where Prices Are Still Rising
Even as 105 markets see values slip, many other regions remain comparatively tight, especially parts of the Northeast and Midwest where inventory is still well below pre-pandemic norms. In these areas, steady job markets, limited new construction and a large pool of existing owners locked into low mortgage rates continue to support modest price gains.
Cities and metro areas with strong local economies but constrained land or regulatory barriers to building—such as some hubs in the Northeast corridor and upper Midwest—show little evidence of broad price declines so far. For homeowners there, the housing market feels more like a plateau than a downturn, even as headlines focus on falling prices elsewhere.
What This Means for Buyers and Sellers
For buyers searching in one of the 105 declining markets, the shift opens up more room to negotiate on price, contingencies and closing timelines. Listings may sit longer, and sellers who anchored expectations to 2022 peaks are increasingly adjusting to the reality of more competition and fewer bidding wars.
Sellers, however, face a more nuanced environment: in softening metros, pricing competitively from the start and being willing to offer repairs or credits can be crucial to attracting offers, while in still-tight regions, appropriately priced homes can continue to move relatively quickly. For both sides, paying close attention to hyper-local data—down to neighborhoods and price bands—matters more than ever in 2025’s split housing market.
Analysts emphasize that current declines in these 105 markets look more like a modest correction than a 2008-style crash, at least so far. On a national basis, median prices remain higher than a year ago, and many homeowners still sit on substantial equity built up during the pandemic boom.
The path ahead will depend heavily on interest rates, income growth and how quickly the recent wave of new construction is absorbed. If mortgage rates drift lower and inventory growth continues to stall, the number of markets with falling prices could shrink; if rates stay elevated and supply keeps building in the Sunbelt, price softness may persist or deepen there. For now, the message from the data is clear: while the U.S. housing market remains far from uniform, more than 100 major metros have already moved decisively into a cooler, more buyer-friendly phase.
