Buyers looking to purchase a home without overstretching their budget have their best chance of finding a relative bargain in markets where sellers are repeatedly slashing their asking prices.
Realtor.com® researchers identified 10 major metros—primarily concentrated in the well-supplied South and West—where listings most frequently undergo at least three price reductions.
Austin, TX, topped the list, with 22.2% of listings that were active on Realtor.com in January undergoing at least three price cuts since the properties first went up on the market.
For context, that is nearly double the national share of 10.7%.
However, Vaike O’Grady, Unlock MLS research adviser in Austin, notes a caveat to these findings.
“We must remember that Austin went through a pandemic-related housing boom, when home prices soared in response to extraordinary demand, including significant migration from out of state,” O’Grady tells Realtor.com. “Now that we are past that inflationary period, it will take some time for the ‘right’ price to appear.”
O’Grady says the surge in price reductions also signals that “home sellers are finally coming to terms with what a normal market feels like.”
Researchers identified 10 major metros where listings most frequently undergo at least three price reductions.
The Texas state capital’s high frequency of multiple price cuts reflects its position as an inventory-rich metro and one of the nation’s premier buyer’s markets.
A recent housing data analysis from Realtor.com revealed that in November (the latest sales data available), Austin had the second highest months of supply among the 50 largest U.S. metros, at 10.5 months, trailing only Miami.
The months of supply metric indicates how many months it would take for all the listed homes in a given market (including pending listings) to be sold at the current sales pace. The higher the months of supply, the more buyer-friendly the market.
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For home shoppers, that means more choices and increased market leverage.
“Active listings remain steady, giving buyers options across price points, while pricing has stabilized compared to last year’s levels,” says O’Grady. “In today’s environment, buyers have more room to negotiate and more time to make informed decisions, which creates a healthier dynamic for long-term homeownership.”
Texas and Florida lead in multiple price cuts
Another Texas metro, San Antonio—dubbed Military City USA for being the home of the massive Joint Base San Antonio—came in a close second for its share of listings with three or more price cuts, at 22%.
The Texas state capital’s high frequency of multiple price cuts reflects its position as an inventory-rich metro and one of the nation’s premier buyer’s markets. steheap – stock.adobe.com
Tampa, FL, had the third highest percentage of price cuts, with just under 21% of listings boasting at least three price reductions, followed by Indianapolis, IN—the sole Midwestern entry in the ranking—at 18.4%. Jacksonville, FL, rounded out the top five, at 17.8%.
“If there aren’t showings or offers, no matter what kind of marketing you do, it is all about the price, and these are sellers who are selling because they need to, not because they are testing the waters,” Cara Ameer, real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty in Florida, tells Realtor.com.
“Many are selling a second home/vacation property, relocating out of the area, or it is an older person that is downsizing/rightsizing or going into assisted living or a longtime rental property.”
Tampa, FL, had the third highest percentage of price cuts, with just under 21% of listings boasting at least three price reductions. Reagan – stock.adobe.com
Ameer explains that many metros in Florida, including Tampa and Jacksonville, are now experiencing a post-pandemic correction fueled by higher borrowing costs, increased housing expenses, HOA fees, and insurance premiums.
“These markets enjoyed a time of overinflated pricing fueled by pandemic moves by buyers from higher cost areas, but in many areas, the values were simply propped up by the fact that interest rates were low, otherwise these properties wouldn’t have reached the pricing thresholds they did,” says the agent. “It’s like a balloon losing air slowly.”
Other large metros that saw repeated price reductions included Dallas (17.2%); Orlando, FL (16.9%); Portland, OR (16.6%); Phoenix (16.5%); and Denver (15.9%).
“It’s more or less a ‘who’s who’ of buyer-friendly markets,” says Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel. “These are places where housing demand is still low and inventory has been steadily building up.”
Other large metros that saw repeated price reductions included Dallas, Orlando, FL, Portland, OR, Phoenix and Denver. Allison – stock.adobe.com
Looking at the top three metros on the list—Austin, San Antonio, and Tampa —the typical for-sale home in those markets has been waiting for a buyer for about three months as of January.
In Austin, the median listing with a $455,000 asking price lingered unsold almost 10 days longer than a year ago, while in Tampa the typical $399,727 property remained on the market more than two weeks longer compared with January 2025, marking the biggest annual slowdown across the top 10 metros in the ranking.
To cut or to delist, that is the question
For sellers in supply-heavy, slowing markets, there are usually two possible avenues: They can either slash their asking price to boost demand, or pull their property off the market and wait for conditions to improve in the hope of getting the price they want at a later time.
Looking at the top three metros on the list, the typical for-sale home in those markets has been waiting for a buyer for about three months as of January. Andy Dean – stock.adobe.com
Krimmel points out that while Austin leads in multiple price reductions, sellers there are also not averse to delisting: From November to December 2025, roughly 9% of the metro’s for-sale inventory was removed from the market, exceeding the national average of 7%.
According to O’Grady, however, new jobs, growing families, weddings, divorces, or downsizing all prompt people to move, and sellers increasingly understand that strategic pricing is often more effective than waiting on the sidelines.
Krimmel agrees, noting that the high rate of multiple price cuts indicates that sellers in buyer-friendly markets “are willing to wait out the market while on the market, rather than delisting and trying to time their relisting for the spring.”
This dynamic spells good news for buyers eyeing their first or next home in 2026.
“If you are a buyer, this is an opportunity to pick up a property at a realistic price without the competition and pressure like there used to have been,” says Ameer. “Florida buyers are benefiting from a lot of choices and, honestly, a lot of properties have been reducing their prices, which is not typical this time of year.”
The agent predicts that come spring, as inventory begins to build, buyers will be “holding the cards.”