10 US Real Estate Markets To Avoid For Now

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Real estate is often thought of as a “safe” investment because prices tend to trend upward over the years. Home prices were up 4.8% year-over-year in May. However, some markets are not seeing an upswing in price.

This can be a warning sign of a real estate market to avoid. Other signs include high levels of for-sale inventory, properties that stay on the market for longer than average (which is between 25-65 days depending on the market) and a large share of listings with price cuts.

GOBankingRates analyzed these factors and more across the 200 largest metro areas to find the 10 real estate markets that prospective buyers should avoid right now.

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10. Tampa, Florida

• Home value in June 2023: $371,881

• Home value in June 2024: $381,941

• Change in home value (%): 2.71%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 20,060

• Mean days to close: 34

• Share of listings with price cuts: 35.26%

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9. Phoenix, AZ

• Home value in June 2023: $442,742

• Home value in June 2024: $460,513

• Change in home value (%): 4.01%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 19,295

• Mean days to close: 31

• Share of listings with price cuts: 34.33%

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8. Santa Cruz, California

• Home value in June 2023: $1,136,849

• Home value in June 2024: $1,181,192

• Change in home value (%): 3.90%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 484

• Mean days to close: 26

• Share of listings with price cuts: 20.08%

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7. Naples, Florida

• Home value in June 2023: $597,760

• Home value in June 2024: $604,606

• Change in home value (%): 1.15%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 6,750

• Mean days to close: 38

• Share of listings with price cuts: 25.37%

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6. Crestview, Florida

• Home value in June 2023: $448,801

• Home value in June 2024: $445,687

• Change in home value (%): -0.69%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 4,607

• Mean days to close: 33

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5. Cape Coral, Florida

• Home value in June 2023: $399,171

• Home value in June 2024: $390,185

• Change in home value (%): -2.25%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 16,576

• Mean days to close: 33

• Share of listings with price cuts: 23.72%

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4. San Antonio, Texas

• Home value in June 2023: $297,094

• Home value in June 2024: $290,483

• Change in home value (%): -2.23%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 11,975

• Mean days to close: 30

• Share of listings with price cuts: 31.37%

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3. North Port, Florida

• Home value in June 2023: $457,639

• Home value in June 2024: $450,116

• Change in home value (%): -1.64%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 9,283

• Mean days to close: 37

• Share of listings with price cuts: 33.20%

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2. New Orleans, Louisiana

• Home value in June 2023: $260,502

• Home value in June 2024: $243,729

• Change in home value (%): -6.44%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 5,887

• Mean days to close: 33

• Share of listings with price cuts: 26.76%

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1. Austin, Texas

• Home value in June 2023: $487,029

• Home value in June 2024: $466,103

• Change in home value (%): -4.30%

• New for-sale inventory (active unique listings): 13,376

• Mean days to close: 23

• Share of listings with price cuts: 29.54%

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the 200 largest Metro Statistical Areas (MSA) according to real estate market and found the following ten factors. For each MSA GOBankingRates found: (1) 1-year percent change in home value; (2) 1-year change in home value in USD; (3) 2-year percent change in home value; (4) 2-year change in home value in USD; (5) For-Sale Inventory; (6) mean days from listing to pending; (7) mean list to sale ratio; (8) mean days from pending to close; (9) share of listings with a price cut; and (10) mean price cut. All data was sourced from Zillow’s June 2024 data. All ten factors were then scored and combined with the highest score being the worst housing markets. In final calculations factors (1), (2), (9), and (10) were weighted 2x and factor (5) was weighted 0.5x. All data was collected and is up to date as of July 16, 2024.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 US Real Estate Markets To Avoid For Now