Stale Home Listings Cause Price Cuts to Soar
As homes sit on the market for longer periods of time, the number of properties receiving price cuts has grown. In May, price reductions on listed properties grew to levels not seen for the month since 2016, according to Realtor.com’s May 2025 Inventory Report. Price cuts were reported on 19.1% of all for-sale homes, with cuts twice as common in the South and West as in the Northeast. Comparatively, in May 2024, the share of listings with price reductions was below 17%.
Metros with the most price cuts
Across the U.S., the South and West saw the most listings with reduced prices. Each region saw 21% of all home listings receive price cuts in May, compared with just 11% of listings in the Northeast.
Of all the major metro areas, Phoenix recorded the largest share of price reductions. There, 31.3% of home listings saw price cuts in May. Tampa, Fla., and Denver followed, where a respective 30% and 29.4% of listings received price cuts during May.
According to the report, this upward trend is likely due to softening demand in these markets following years of inventory growth following the pandemic housing boom.
Home-price reductions have been growing over the past year
- 2025 Could See More Home Price Reductions: Price reductions began picking up at the beginning of the year, with more predicted through the remainder of 2025.
- Growing Price Cuts Signal Favorable Conditions for Homebuyers: In March, 33.9% of active listings received a price cut.
- Where Are Builders Paying the Most for Sales Incentives? It's not just the resale market being impacted by stale listings. Builders are more commonly using sales incentives in order to sell new homes.