Every homebuyer’s favorite couple – lower prices and more listings
When it comes to buying a home, so often we use the language of love. You “fall head over heels at the open house.” It was “love at first sight when you saw the online listing.” Walking through the home “you just felt an instant connection.” As the old saying goes, “home is where the heart is,” so perhaps it’s no surprise that we make a connection to romance when talking about buying a home.
Even though we talk about falling in love with a house, we never talk about falling in love with a housing market. Perhaps that makes sense, as we can all identify the strong emotions that come from the physical place we call home, but it’s much harder to have any emotion about economic conditions that may make buying a home more possible for you.
That’s not to say that there aren’t traits you should look for when considering the purchase of a home. In many cities across the country, the stars are aligning to help you buy a home this year. The perfect match of economic factors could lower home prices and lead to more listings on the market. It’s the real estate equivalent of plenty of fish in the sea.
So where are these romance-ready cities, perfect for first-time homebuyers? We dug into the data from the Realtor.com® Economic Research team to find where home prices have dropped since this time last year, while the number of home listings has gone up over that same time period. We compared the top 250 housing markets across the country from December 2024 and saw this encouraging trend in these 20 markets.
- Miami, FL
Change in price: -9.9%
Median Listing Price: $522,500
Change in number of listings: +45.39%
Number of listings: 44,833 - Naples, FL
Change in price: -9.36%
Median Listing Price: $775,000
Change in number of listings: +44.75%
Number of listings: 6,259
Florida markets dominate
As you can tell from the first two entries, Florida cities appear multiple times on the list, such as Miami, Naples, Orlando and Cape Coral. These markets show a combination of declining prices and growing inventory, indicating that the once red-hot Florida housing market is cooling slightly.
This could be in part to new construction, both in the South and in the Mountain West states that are also reflected on this list (Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Montana). These regions have seen a boom in new construction thanks to population growth and abundant buildable land. It’s also possible that Florida specifically has seen home prices come down due to climate concerns after a series of hurricanes hit the state in the fall of 2024.
- Davenport, IA
Change in price: -11.26%
Median Listing Price: $199,575
Change in number of listings: +39.36%
Number of listings: 832 - Urban Honolulu, HI
Change in price: -12.13%
Median Listing Price: $699,000
Change in number of listings: +37.47%
Number of listings: 2,897
High-cost markets are adjusting down
Some higher-priced metros, such as Urban Honolulu (down 12.13%), Reno, NV (down 7.49%) and Naples, FL (down 9.36%), are seeing steep declines in home prices while also experiencing significant inventory growth. This suggests we may be seeing a market correction in these once-hot markets as they are adjusting to changing economic conditions.
- Greenville, NC
Change in price: -5.71%
Median Listing Price: $292,200
Change in number of listings: +47.92%
Number of listings: 428 - Kingsport, TN
Change in price: -5.99%
Median Listing Price: $299,900
Change in number of listings: +42.38%
Number of listings: 832
Plenty of activity in smaller cities
Many of the cities on this list that have smaller populations find themselves here thanks to an increase in home listings. Compared to the other markets on this list, places like Greenville, Kingsport and Little Rock tended to place higher on the list of markets that saw more listings and lower in terms of where home prices are coming down.
Part of this can be explained by the fact that these areas have lower home prices to start with, so they have less room to come down. But these areas have also become popular with movers, resulting in a higher percentage of people moving into Southeastern states in 2024. Those new residents may find some welcoming market conditions in their newfound homestates when they arrive.
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
Change in price: -8.25%
Median Listing Price: $436,203
Change in number of listings: +37.76%
Number of listings: 11,639 - Denver, CO
Change in price: -5.35%
Median Listing Price: $577,350
Change in number of listings: +41.93%
Number of listings: 7,022 - Orlando, FL
Change in price: -4.34%
Median Listing Price: $419,950
Change in number of listings: +42.38%
Number of listings: 12,252 - Jacksonville, FL
Change in price: -5.69%
Median Listing Price: $384,500
Change in number of listings: +36.75%
Number of listings: 8,138
Making the most of a buyer’s market
The markets listed here are just the most extreme examples areas where conditions are in the homebuyer’s favor. In the top 250 markets we looked at, 128 of them saw home prices down from a year before and 233 cities saw more home listings this year than last. That’s good news for homebuyers throughout the country, because a buyer’s market means that you are in a stronger position.
Sellers may be more open to negotiating, so you can ask for things like a lower asking price, specific repairs or seller concessions like RateReduce, a program that could give you a lower mortgage rate.
You may also be able to take more time and look for the home that’s right for you. With more homes on the market, the chances of finding the one you’ll fall in love with are higher.
- Billings, MT
Change in price: -7.52%
Median Listing Price: $448,450
Change in number of listings: +33.11%
Number of listings: 698 - Sebastian, FL
Change in price: -5.47%
Median Listing Price: $449,000
Change in number of listings: +36.00%
Number of listings: 1,715 - Reno, NV
Change in price: -7.49%
Median Listing Price: $598,971
Change in number of listings: +32.73%
Number of listings: 1,241 - Homosassa Springs, FL
Change in price: -5.31%
Median Listing Price: $320,995
Change in number of listings: +33.90%
Number of listings: 1,485 - Atlanta, GA
Change in price: -3.63%
Median Listing Price: $399,950
Change in number of listings: +38.32%
Number of listings: 22,704 - Little Rock, AR
Change in price: -4.30%
Median Listing Price: $287,000
Change in number of listings: +36.19%
Number of listings: 2,392 - Tucson, AZ
Change in price: -2.75%
Median Listing Price: $387,913
Change in number of listings: +42.93%
Number of listings: 3,355 - Punta Gorda, FL
Change in price: -7.63%
Median Listing Price: $394,900
Change in number of listings: +29.95%
Number of listings: 3,882 - Phoenix, AZ
Change in price: -5.07%
Median Listing Price: $499,995
Change in number of listings: +32.80%
Number of listings: 15,080 - Wichita, KS
Change in price: -3.36%
Median Listing Price: $285,000
Change in number of listings: +37.82%
Number of listings: 1,602
Good conditions as we approach the spring homebuying season
As mentioned above, when home prices are down and home listings are up, you may find yourself in a buyer’s market. That’s a great place to be as we head into the spring homebuying season. If these conditions stay the same over the next few months, this could be a good spring for first-time homebuyers to finally realize their dream of homeownership.
In a buyer’s market, you have the power to negotiate. You can offer less than the asking price, ask the seller to cover repairs or request concessions like covering closing costs or including appliances in the deal. You can even ask them to lower your mortgage rate with RateReduce. With more homes on the market, this is your chance to find a home that fits your needs while keeping more money in your pocket.
As we look ahead, there are some economists that suggest that mortgage rates will remain elevated in the first half of 2025. Though it’s impossible to predict, it’s a good idea to keep in mind the sage advice of “date the rate, marry the house.”
This reminds you that if you find a house that fits your wish list and you can afford it, you should purchase it regardless of the current mortgage rate, which you can potentially improve in the future with a refinance. Talk to a loan officer about how you can use this strategy in your homebuying journey.
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