A surge in home price cuts is reshaping the U.S. housing landscape, with so-called pandemic boomtowns now leading the trend. In June, a record 26.6% of for-sale home listings across the country saw their prices reduced, marking the highest June figure since at least 2018, according to new data from Zillow. The shift signals a distinct cooling in markets that once saw bidding wars and soaring prices, now giving buyers more leverage than they have had in years.
The cities feeling this cooling most acutely are the same ones that experienced explosive growth during the pandemic housing boom. Denver tops the list, where 38.3% of listings had price cuts in June. Raleigh follows at 36.4%, with Dallas, Nashville, and Phoenix each reporting about 35.5% of homes seeing markdowns. These cities became magnets for remote workers during the early years of COVID-19, with their combination of space, sunshine, and—a now relative term—affordable housing.
Yet as mortgage rates remain elevated and many buyers face affordability barriers, demand has lost much of its pandemic-era heat. Inventory has increased sharply, and in these former boomtowns, the balance between supply and demand has started to tip the other way. For example, inventory in Denver, Raleigh, Dallas and Nashville has already surpassed pre-pandemic norms; only Phoenix remains slightly below that threshold.
Other cities are experiencing these changes at different paces. Kansas City saw the sharpest month-over-month jump in price cuts, climbing five percentage points from May to June. Buffalo, Indianapolis, Columbus and Minneapolis also logged significant increases in price reductions. Experts say that when the rate of price cuts accelerates rapidly, it’s typically an indicator that a market is cooling faster than expected.
In contrast, certain regions remain relatively insulated from these trends. Markets such as Milwaukee, New York, Hartford, Buffalo and San Jose posted some of the lowest rates of price reductions nationwide. In these cities, constrained inventory is still keeping sellers firmly in control, and price markdowns remain uncommon. In Milwaukee, just 13.9% of listings had price cuts in June, the lowest among major metros.
Looking ahead, more markdowns may be on the horizon. Forecasts from Zillow suggest that affordability pressures will persist even as home values and mortgage rates nudge downward, leaving many would-be buyers still sidelined. While overall home values have largely stabilized or declined modestly in many metros, continued inventory growth and tepid demand are likely to make further price adjustments a recurring theme as 2025 progresses.
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