After months of a stalled housing market, home values now are moving in reverse in some key cities.
Higher mortgage rates and fears of a possible recession have sent many potential homebuyers to the sidelines. And with fewer buyers, nationwide prices are falling.
In the four-week period ending Jan. 8, U.S. home prices were up 0.8% year over year, at a median of $351,250, according to real estate brokerage firm Redfin. But that price was down 10% from the June peak.
In a handful of places, prices are falling deeper than they have at any point since 2015, Redfin says.
Following are the markets experiencing the biggest home price declines in nearly a decade.
Las Vegas
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 2% or less
Las Vegas was one of the hardest-hit cities during the last wave of house-price declines that swept across the country in the wake of the Great Recession.
However, since 2015, home prices haven’t dropped — until now. After a long period of recovery, they are falling once again.
Portland, Oregon
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 2% or less
Last fall, we reported that Portland was among the cities where anxious home sellers were dropping their asking prices.
Now, that fear is showing up in the sales data, with actual values down slightly.
Chicago
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 2.5%
In December, Illinois Realtors said housing prices in Chicago were falling at a rate not seen since 2011, when the nation was still recovering from the Great Recession.
Values were said to be holding up a bit better for suburban properties.
San Diego
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 2.6%
As we reported in December, nearly half the homes for sale in San Diego had at least one price reduction.
When that many sellers cut their asking price, it is inevitable that home values are on the way down.
Boston
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 3%
Massachusetts is having some trouble holding on to its residents.
The Bay State is among the “10 States That Are Losing the Most Residents.” If people keep leaving Boston and other places in the commonwealth, home prices will have a tough time rising.
Phoenix
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 3.7%
During the height of the pandemic, Phoenix had one of the hottest housing markets in the nation.
But things changed in 2022. By the end of the year, Phoenix was among the “15 Cities With the Largest Drop in Home Sales in 2022.”
Seattle
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 5%
As 2022 headed into the homestretch, it was clear that the chilly winds blowing across the nation’s housing market had reached Seattle.
By December, the city was officially one of the “10 Pandemic Boomtowns Where Housing Now Is Cooling.”
San Francisco
Year-over-year home price decline in this metro area: 10.6%
Many of the nation’s housing markets are cooling down. But San Francisco has dropped squarely into a deep freeze.
No other major market has seen anything like the city’s 10.6% home price decline. To make matters worse, people are fleeing San Francisco in bigger numbers than any other U.S. city.
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