Waiting for a Buyer’s Market? These Top 10 Metros Offer the Biggest Price Cuts

After a sluggish spring season marked by tepid buying activity, summer is finally here—and housing markets in parts of the country are turning increasingly buyer-friendly.

Aspiring first-time homebuyers and seasoned house hunters alike would be wise to focus their search efforts on the South and West, where there are more options to choose from and better deals are more likely to be found than anywhere else in the U.S. at this time.

One of the key indicators of a buyer-friendly market is the share of listings offering price cuts, and in that respect, Phoenix is unmatched.

According to the latest available data from Realtor.com®, in May 2025, close to a third of all listings in Phoenix came with price reductions to attract reluctant would-be buyers.

The typical home in the bustling Southwestern hub cost $525,000, and active listings were up more than 23% from a year ago.

In Phoenix, AZ, close to a third of all listings had price reductions, making the metro buyer-friendly.
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The South and West see surging price cuts

New listings—a measure of owners putting homes up for sale—ticked up 3.8% year over year, offering house hunters plenty of choices.

“A growing number of for-sale homes in some markets is helping to rebalance the market, giving buyers more negotiating room than they’ve seen in several years,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

In May, homes in Phoenix spent a median of 58 days on the market, which was seven days slower than the national median.

Behind Phoenix was Tampa, at No. 2. The Florida metro saw its percentage of listings with discounts climb to 29.9% in May.

Cityscape of downtown Tampa Florida after dark with the ever changing lighting of the Brorein Street bridge along the Hillsborough River.
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The sun-soaked resort city nestled along the Gulf Coast had a median list price of a little over $417,000, which is more than $20,000 below the national figure. On top of that, the local housing market saw the number of for-sale properties surge more than 31% year over year, with the typical property waiting 60 days for a buyer.

Rounding out the top three most buyer-friendly metros in the U.S., Denver saw its share of discounted home listings reach 29.4% in May.

The Mile High City also experienced a surge in active listings, up nearly 64%—the largest increase among the 10 most favorable markets for buyers.

Denver’s new listings also grew a healthy 4.3% compared with a year ago, even though the market’s pace was the fastest among the metros on the list, at 38 days. Additionally, the typical home in Denver was listed for $600,000—the second-highest price tag.

The number of active listings in Denver, CO, soared 64% in May 2025.
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Market pace slows after construction boom

Phoenix, Tampa, and Denver have something in common: All three metros have seen their inventory levels skyrocket due to pandemic-era construction booms, but demand has since tapered off due to elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty.

As a result, more sellers are motivated to slash their asking prices.

Austin, TX, the famously quirky Lone Star city known for its top-notch barbecue and the South By Southwest Festival, saw its new listings count soar 13.2% in May from a year ago—the most of any metro on the list.

Meanwhile, the overall inventory of for-sale properties in Austin increased by 26.5% year over year, as the city’s median price declined 6.3%, to $525,000, marking the biggest annual drop among the nation’s 50 largest metros, according to the Realtor.com May 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report.

Buyers looking to snap up a home in Austin had a good chance of getting a discount, with 29.2% of all listings offering price reductions.

Austin skyline — Austin, TX, saw its new listings count soar 13.2% in May from a year ago—the most of any metro on the list.
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Notably, Austin, like Denver, went on a construction spree during COVID-19. As a result, it now has over 60% more active inventory than it did in 2019. But this glut of homes is now sitting on the market longer than six years ago, and prices have softened.

“Sellers are responding, and these areas—concentrated in the South and West—show the highest share of price cuts, with more than 1 in 4 listings in each market having a price reduction,” says Hale.

Jacksonville, FL, boasted one of the lowest median list prices in May, at $405,000, coupled with a share of listings with price cuts at 28.8%. The typical dwelling lingered unsold for 60 days, indicating a slower market pace than the national median.

The coastal city, which is the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, saw its active listings increase more than 31% annually, even though new listings ticked up less than 1%.

In Charleston, SC, the overall number of listings jumped by 36% in May, but new listings were nearly flat year over year. Looking at the available inventory, 27.3% of for-sale homes came with discounts.

The city’s median list price ticked up a modest 1.9% year over year, to $539,000, or nearly $100,000 higher than the national figure, setting Charleston apart from all the other metros on the top 10 list that have seen their prices shrink.

Salt Lake City mirrored Charleston’s trend, with just over 27% of its active listings offering price cuts.

The Western metro saw the overall number of for-sale properties increase 38.2% last month, while its new listing segment edged up 2.5% during the same period.

Both Dallas and Palm Bay, FL, had the same percentage of listings with price cuts, at 27%, but the two cities differed in several important ways.

Dallas boasted the second-biggest increase in new listings in May among the top 10 buyer-friendly metros, at 12.1%, and its overall active listings picked up 44.8%, while its market pace stood at 45 days, below the national median.

Palm Bay, on the other hand, saw a staggering 14% annual drop in new listings, suggesting that sellers there were pulling back.

The Florida metro’s overall number of for-sale homes increased 24.5% year over year, and the typical property waited 65 days for a buyer—the most of any metro on the list.

Closing out the top 10, Portland, OR, stood out for having the highest median list price among the ranked metros, at $610,707.

The popular Pacific Northwest city enjoyed a robust annual growth in fresh inventory, coming in at 9.7%. Most importantly for would-be buyers, 26.8% of the market’s listings came with a discount.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, no Midwestern or Northeastern metro made the rankings, largely because both regions continue to face major supply shortages, keeping demand high and price reductions rare.