A Shifting Real Estate Market Is Seeing Steadier Prices—But Not for All

After over a year of record-high home prices driving large segments of buyers out of the market, price growth appears to have peaked nationally as rates increase at a much slower monthly pace. Some homes are taking longer to sell and others are undergoing significant price reductions, but major market changes aren’t consistent across the country. 

The most desirable regional markets with low available housing will continue to see surging prices, according to Realtor.com, but a lack of competition in many Rust Belt and Midwestern cities is causing home prices to drop. Other hot real estate markets like Austin and Boise likely peaked in August, and price growth is expected to slow at a steady pace over the next several months. 

The growth in prices, which rose more than 30% this year in some of the nation’s hottest real estate markets, appears to have peaked nationally. Home prices are still increasing, but substantially less than they were just a few months ago. There are even signs that some of the hottest real estate markets in the nation are slowing, with homes taking longer to sell and undergoing more price reductions.

And while this doesn’t mean the wishes of buyers will come true and real estate will suddenly become far more affordable, real estate experts do expect price increases in coming months to be much more manageable going forward in much—but not all—of the country.

“Prices and sellers reached for the moon this year. It looks like we are now about to move back to Earth,” says George Ratiu, director of economic research at Realtor.com®.

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