Eight of the 50 most populous U.S. metros – including seven in Florida and Texas – recorded a drop in home prices year-over-year in February, according to a report from Redfin.
Tampa saw the largest annual decrease in home prices in February at -0.6%.
Still, the vast majority of U.S. housing markets saw home prices increase during the month.
“There’s some good news for both buyers and sellers as we enter the Spring home buying season,” says Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist for Redfin, in the report. “The recent decline in mortgage rates and slowing price growth is bringing more home hunters off the sidelines, an encouraging sign for potential sellers.”
“At the same time, some areas of the country have turned into fully fledged buyer’s markets, where homes are sitting longer and people are able to negotiate a good deal under the list price,” Bokhari says. “That’s particularly the case in several Florida and Texas markets where the number of homes on the market has ballooned and prices are now starting to fall.”
Nationwide, home prices increased 0.4% on an adjusted basis in February compared with January.
That’s the slowest pace since July 2024.
Year-over-year, home prices were up 5.1% in February – the slowest pace since August 2023.
Prices have grown between 0.4% and 0.6% month-over-month in 13 of the past 16 months, Redfin says.
Bokhari notes that year-over-year home price growth has slowed for 10 consecutive months, dropping from 7.5% in April 2024 to 5.1% in February.
Other cities that saw the biggest decreases in home price growth in February included Austin, Texas (-3.5%) and Fort Worth, Texas (-2.4%).
The highest year-over-year gains were recorded in Detroit (20.9%), St Louis (12.6%) and Pittsburgh (12.6%).
Photo: Phil Hearing