{"id":578716,"date":"2026-02-10T01:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T01:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/578716\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T01:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T01:36:12","slug":"the-housing-markets-with-the-sharpest-price-declines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/578716\/","title":{"rendered":"The housing markets with the sharpest price declines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home price growth<\/a>\u00a0has slowed to \u202f0.9% in\u202fDecember\u202f2025, but many markets are seeing only a decline.<\/p>\n

Annual\u00a0home price<\/a>\u00a0growth of less than 1% is one of the softest rates since the post-Great Recession recovery, according to a new U.S. home price insights\u00a0report from data research firm Cotality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing a significant departure from the rapid surges of recent years; while the upward pressure on prices remains, the momentum has moderated enough to suggest that the market is finally becoming more navigable for prospective buyers,\u201d Cotality\u2019s chief economist,\u00a0Selma Hepp, said in the report.<\/p>\n

The South and the West are getting hit the worst. Here, negative price declines are the norm.\u00a0Florida<\/a>,\u00a0Texas<\/a>,\u00a0Colorado<\/a>, Washington, DC,\u00a0Hawaii<\/a>,\u00a0Arizona<\/a>,\u00a0Utah<\/a>,\u00a0Oregon<\/a>, and\u00a0California<\/a>\u00a0have seen the steepest declines in Cotality\u2019s Home Price Index (HPI), which predicts the risk of metros in a downturn by analyzing multiple market segments and 45 years of home price trends using proprietary statistical models.<\/p>\n

The coolest markets with the sharpest HPI decline are\u00a0Kahului<\/a>\u2013Wailuku, HI<\/a>;\u00a0Victoria, TX<\/a>;\u00a0Wichita Falls, TX<\/a>;\u00a0Napa, CA<\/a>;\u00a0Naples, FL<\/a>; Punta Gorda, FL;\u00a0Cape Coral, FL<\/a>;\u00a0North Port, FL<\/a>;\u00a0Rome, GA<\/a>; and\u00a0Sebastian, FL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Punta Gorda<\/a>\u00a0has also seen the biggest equity percentage drop at -7.97%, with a median $26,624 plunge in value.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many markets are seeing home price declines. Realtor.com<\/p>\n

Why are home valuations in decline?<\/p>\n

Much of it is attributed to\u00a0higher inventory levels<\/a>\u00a0and slowing in-migration in markets that previously saw rapid expansion, says the report.<\/p>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic times, with\u00a0mortgage rates<\/a>\u00a0at historic lows, people in urban areas rushed into many of these markets now approaching or in a downturn\u2014especially Florida and Texas\u2014as they sought more space and fewer restrictions, pushing prices up to unsustainable levels.<\/p>\n

Those markets are now seeing a hard correction, especially in Florida. The Sunshine State takes half the spots on the list.<\/p>\n

Cotality calls the declines a \u201creturn to a long\u2011anticipated normalization driven by economic and housing fundamentals. The frantic bidding wars and double\u2011digit price surges of recent years have given way to a market where buyers and sellers must gradually realign their expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Florida, this is already happening.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs sellers lose their leverage in this environment, they\u2019re getting more realistic in their pricing,\u201d Douglas Elliman agent\u00a0Michael Merrill<\/a>, who works in Vero Beach, tells\u00a0Realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even as\u00a0billionaires<\/a>\u00a0flock to the state for its friendlier tax policies, the average resident is struggling with a\u00a0loss of equity<\/a>\u00a0on top of higher (though\u00a0stabilizing<\/a>) housing costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason [Florida] homes have lost value is higher inventory, less migration to the area, and sellers overpricing the homes,\u201d adds\u00a0Brenden Rendo<\/a>, a strategic real estate adviser at Real Estate Bees who serves Central Florida.<\/p>\n

The Sunshine State takes all the top five spots of markets facing the highest risk of continuing future declines: Cape Coral, Lakeland, North Port, Palm Bay, and even\u00a0West Palm Beach<\/a>, which has seen an influx of luxury developers.<\/p>\n

Two Texas metros are in the top three markets seeing a hard correction: Victoria and Wichita Falls.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles real estate investor\u00a0Jameson Tyler Drew, who witnessed the exodus of residents from California to Texas during the pandemic, says many people\u2014both current and potential residents\u2014are disenchanted with the Lone Star State because it\u2019s no longer as affordable as it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe luster of\u00a0Texas\u00a0seems to be fading pretty quickly as prices increased these last few years,\u201d he tells Realtor.com. \u201cPeople I\u2019ve spoken to have found its property taxes higher than that in California, and their commutes are becoming longer and longer. Now, people who leave California just go to Midwestern cities directly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He names\u00a0Milwaukee<\/a>,\u00a0Indianapolis<\/a>, and even\u00a0Chicago<\/a>\u00a0as places where California transplants are seeking more affordable pastures. Others are looking to cheaper areas in the Golden State, including\u00a0Fresno<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bakersfield<\/a>\u2013Delano<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hawaii and Napa in a downturn?<\/p>\n

A couple of unexpected metros\u2014both pricey and known for their beauty\u2014had two of the steepest HPI declines: Kahului-Wailuku, HI (No. 1), and Napa, CA (No. 4). They have median list prices of $1,049,500 (down from $1.42 million in August 2023) and $1,304,500 (down from $1.79 million in June 2023), respectively.<\/p>\n

In January, 10% (188 listings) and 11.6% (56 listings) of listings in Kahului-Wuiluku and Napa, respectively, saw price reductions, according to Realtor.com data.<\/p>\n

Cotality<\/a>\u2018s principal economist,\u00a0Thom Malone, attributes the HPI declines in these two coveted markets to home insurance costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHawaii\u2019s insurance costs have skyrocketed in the wake of the 2023 fires, and Napa is the same story, with most of the county being classified as very high wildfire risk,\u201d he tells Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decline in prices is necessary to compensate the buyer for the [rising] insurance costs, since the attractiveness of the areas has not changed otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kahului-Wailuku, HI<\/p>\n

The median list price in Kahului-Wailuku, HI is $1,049,500. Realtor.com<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 8%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $1,049,500<\/p>\n

Victoria, TX<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 7.4%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $276,100<\/p>\n

Wichita Falls-TX<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 7.2%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $199,575<\/p>\n

Napa, CA<\/p>\n

The median list price in Napa, CA is $1,304,500. Realtor.com<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 7.1%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $1,304,500<\/p>\n

Naples, FL<\/p>\n

The median list price in Naples, FL is $729,725. Realtor.com<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 6.8%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $729,725<\/p>\n

Punta Gorda, FL<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 6.2%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $384,750<\/p>\n

Cape Coral, FL<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 6.2%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $399,949<\/p>\n

North Port, FL<\/p>\n

The median list price in North Port, FL is $479,900. Realtor.com<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 5.9%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $479,900<\/p>\n

Rome, GA<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 5.2%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $296,950<\/p>\n

Sebastian, FL<\/p>\n

HPI percentage drop: 5.2%<\/p>\n

Median list price: $442,725<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home price growth\u00a0has slowed to \u202f0.9% in\u202fDecember\u202f2025, but many markets are seeing only a decline. Annual\u00a0home price\u00a0growth of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":578717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,79,11194,7065,135,6769,4329,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-578716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-homeowners","11":"tag-housing","12":"tag-markets","13":"tag-prices","14":"tag-real-estate","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116043774830416616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}