More than 1 in 4 home sellers nationwide dropped their asking prices in June.
That’s the biggest share recorded during what typically has been one of the busiest times of the year for home sales, according to data going back to 2018 compiled by the online real estate site, Zillow.
Sellers reduced the amount they wanted for their homes on 26.6% of active listings throughout the United States in June, Zillow reported in a Thursday post, compared to 24.4% a year ago and 25.8% the previous month.
So where are the most home price reductions happening?
Denver topped the Zillow list. The Colorado capital saw home prices lowered on 38.3% of listings in June. Next highest was Raleigh, at 36.4%; followed by Dallas, Nashville and Phoenix, all at 35.5%.
“Most of these markets saw explosive growth during the pandemic housing boom. Now, they are rebalancing as population growth slows and some buyers bump up against affordability ceilings,” Zillow noted.
Increases in inventory also had an impact on those five markets, even as the number of homes for sale across the country remains 20.6% below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Denver, Raleigh, Dallas and Nashville have surged past those levels, while Phoenix is just below.
Other markets are seen as “rapidly cooling,” thanks to jumps in the share of price cuts from May to June. Kansas City had the biggest month-over-month increase, 5 percentage points, trailed by Buffalo, Indianapolis, Columbus and Minneapolis, all up more than 3 percentage points.
Of course, some places are seeing lesser levels of price chopping. In Milwaukee, just 13.9% of listings got cheaper in June; in New York, that number was 15.6%; in Hartford, 16%; Buffalo, 18.3%; and San Jose, 22.1%.
“Buyers are moving closer to the driver’s seat as inventory climbs. In many markets, this is the first sign of meaningful negotiating power in years,” Zillow pointed out. “Buyers should expect fewer bidding wars, more listings to tour and more time to consider their options.”