Realtor.com's February analysis shows price cuts growing in Texas, Florida, and Arizona |
Realtor.com's February analysis shows price cuts growing in Texas, Florida, and Arizona
Sellers are lowering prices across the Sun Belt. Realtor.com explains why these 9 metros have been hit hardest
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The pandemic-era housing boom left a complicated legacy. In dozens of American cities, sellers spent years watching their home values balloon to heights that had little to do with local wages, mortgage affordability, or any durable shift in demand. They were prices built on migration patterns, remote-work windfalls, and historically low interest rates.
None of those trends lasted — and now, the bill has come due.
Mortgage rates remain elevated. Insurance premiums, particularly in Sun Belt states, climbed sharply. Homeowners' association fees and property taxes followed prices upward, squeezing the pool of buyers who can realistically close a deal. Sellers who priced their homes against the memory of 2021 are discovering a much different market. Buyers have grown cautious. Days on market have stretched. And sellers, reluctantly or otherwise, are cutting.
The geographic clustering is striking. A Realtor.com analysis of February 2026 data found that at least one in five active listings in nine major U.S. metros carried a price reduction that month. What follows is a breakdown of those markets — what's driving the cuts, how deep they run, and what they signal about where residential real estate is heading.
1. Phoenix leads the country in price cuts
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Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler posted the highest share of price reductions of any major U.S. metro in February 2026, with 28.2% of active listings marked down. Arizona real estate agent James Sanson told Realtor.com that the market had gone quiet. Homes were simply not moving. Sellers responded by targeting lower price brackets in order to expand the field of eligible buyers. A notable share of price cutters are seasonal visitors who spent winters in Phoenix during the pandemic years and decided to exit for good. Many bought at the height of the COVID spike and believe they are still sitting on gains, even after a reduction. Sanson said these owners want to get ahead of further........