Home Prices Are Falling Fastest in These Cities, Giving Buyers an Edge

Home prices are declining rapidly in many of the largest U.S. housing markets, with one Texas metropolitan area seeing asking prices fall nearly 10% in a single year. 

Austin, TX, had the largest drop in median listing prices in September, followed by Memphis, TN, and Tampa, FL, according to the Realtor.com® September Housing Report.

The listing price for homes in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area decreased by 9.8% from last year to $446,450.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR, was second with an 8.7% decrease, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, was third with a 6.6% decrease. 

Nationally, the median listing price decreased by 1.4% from last year to $419,250 in September, according to Realtor.com data. This price was down 1.4% from last September, marking an 11th consecutive month of year-over-year declines.

Among the 50 largest metro areas, these 10 saw the biggest annual declines in listing prices in September:

• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: -9.8%
  Median listing price: $446,450
• Memphis, TN-MS-AR: -8.7%
  Median listing price: $299,950
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: -6.6%
  Median listing price: $385,398
• San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: -6.3%
  Median listing price: $888,450
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: -5.9%
  Median listing price: $1,034,500
• Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: -4.9%
  Median listing price: $569,900
• Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: -4.8%
  Median listing price: $475,000
• St. Louis, MO-IL: -4.7%
  Median listing price: $285,950
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: -4.6%
  Median listing price: $572,150
• Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: -4.2%
  Median listing price: $569,450

Austin, which saw the largest annual drop, also had an 8.4% decrease in its median list price per square foot—a measure that controls for the size of homes on the market—compared to the previous year. Total active listings in the Austin area were up 1.4% from a year ago, and new listings were up 2.1%.

Memphis, where the median listing price decreased to slightly less than $300,000, saw active listings increase 8.1 % from a year ago. New listings, however, decreased 4.6%.

Tampa's median listing price decreased 6.6% to $385,398, while the price per square foot decreased 6.0%.

California's two metro areas in the top 10 continue to be some of the most expensive housing markets in the country. San Diego's median listing price decreased 6.3% to $888,450, while Los Angeles' median listing price decreased 5.9% to just over $1 million. Both metros also reported annual decreases in the price per square foot.

Denver and Phoenix, two markets that experienced significant housing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic-era boom, also saw asking prices decrease.

Denver's median listing price decreased 4.9% to $569,900, while Phoenix's decreased 4.8% to $475,000.

St. Louis saw listing prices decrease 4.7% and active listings increase 16.3%. In Washington, DC, listing prices decreased by 4.6% while active listings increased by 16.2%. Both metro areas now provide buyers with more homes to choose from than they did a year ago.

Providence, RI, had the smallest decrease among the 10 metro areas, with its median listing price dipping 4.2% to $569,450. However, its median listing price per square foot increased 8.4% from last year.

Price cuts continue to be an indication of pressure on the fall housing market. Nationwide, sellers continue to lower their expectations, according to the Realtor.com September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends Report.

In September, 20.8% of all active listings had a price reduction, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than a year ago and the largest share for the month since 2018. Active inventory increased 5.4% year over year to over 1.16 million homes, bringing supply to within 9.1% of normal pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, the number of homes under contract decreased 4.1% from a year ago, marking a second consecutive monthly decrease and the largest annual decrease since March 2025.