Nearly Half of Home Sellers Are Cutting Prices: What’s Happening in 5 Key Markets This Fall

Florida: fewer homes for sale, and they’re moving faster

Florida is the most interesting story on the list this fall, because it’s moving in the opposite direction from most of the country on supply. Inventory sits at 85,512 homes, down more than 12% from roughly 97,500 a year ago. Nationally, inventory went up.

With fewer homes to choose from, the median home is now selling in 84 days, two weeks faster than the 98 days we saw last October. Florida’s Market Action Index also ticked up, from about 31 to 32, while most other markets cooled.

Prices haven’t caught up to that tightening yet. The median list price is $469,000, down about 3% from $483,000 a year ago, and price per square foot slipped to $245. Asking rents eased slightly to $2,550 a month. One possible read is that sellers who overreached in 2025 have adjusted their pricing, and the homes that remain may be more realistically priced. Whether that translates into firmer prices next year is something worth watching.

Texas: right on the line between buyers and sellers

Texas has the largest inventory of the five states, with 138,534 homes listed, almost exactly where it was a year ago. What has changed is pricing. The median list price is $365,000, down about 3% from roughly $375,000, and price per square foot dropped to $178.

Texas’s Market Action Index is sitting right at 30, the dividing line between a seller’s market and a buyer’s market. Homes are taking time to sell, too, with median of 91 days and an average of 134 on the market. More than 44% of Texas listings also show a price reduction.

Here’s the twist for anyone who owns rentals: Texas was the only state in our table where median asking rent went up, rising about 2% to $2,190 a month. Softer purchase prices paired with steady rents could change the math on rental property, though every deal still depends on its own numbers.

California: pricey, but holding up better than you might think

California remains the most expensive of the five markets by a wide margin. The median list price is $759,994, down about 1% from $769,000 a year ago, and price per square foot held near $405.

What stands out is how steady demand looks. The median home now sells in 63 days, a week faster than last October. Only about 37% of California listings show a price cut, the lowest share in our group. Inventory is up a modest 3.5% to 56,398 homes, and the Market Action Index sits around 37, comfortably on the seller side of the line.

Renters are seeing some relief, though. Median asking rent fell about 7% to $3,100 a month, the biggest rent decline of the five states.

North Carolina: more choices, a slower pace

North Carolina buyers have a lot more to look at this fall. Inventory climbed to 41,642 homes, up nearly 11% from about 37,600 a year ago. That extra supply is showing up in the pace of sales. The median home now takes 77 days to sell, a week longer than last October, and the average stretched to 117 days.

The median list price is $419,900, down about 2% from $429,800, and price per square foot eased to $206. The Market Action Index slid from 33 to 31, still technically seller-leaning, but heading toward neutral. Median asking rent dipped slightly to $1,925.

For buyers and investors, a market like this may offer more time to evaluate properties and more room to negotiate than they’ve had in the last few years.

Ohio: the one bucking the trend

If you’re looking for the market that hasn’t gotten the cooling memo, it’s Ohio. It’s the only state in our table where the median list price went up over the past year, rising about 2% to $294,900. Price per square foot also climbed slightly, to $167.

Ohio homes are still moving quickly. The median home sells in 49 days, the same as a year ago and about three weeks faster than the national median. Its Market Action Index of 41 is the strongest of the group, well into seller territory.

That’s not to say Ohio is immune to broader trends. Inventory rose nearly 11% to 21,161 homes, the Market Action Index is down from about 42 a year ago, and median asking rent dropped roughly 3% to $1,650. Still, with the lowest entry price of the five states and the fastest pace of sales, Ohio may continue to draw attention from buyers looking for affordability.

What this could mean for real estate investors

There’s no single “housing market” right now. There are dozens of local ones, and they’re moving at different speeds. A few things stand out from this fall’s data:

Negotiating leverage may be shifting. With price cuts on more than 4 in 10 listings nationally, buyers in many markets may have more room to negotiate than they’ve had in years.

Supply tells different stories. Florida’s inventory is shrinking while North Carolina’s and Ohio’s are growing. Local supply trends could matter more than national headlines.

Rents and prices aren’t always moving together. Texas rents rose while prices fell. For rental property owners, that gap could affect cash flow, and it’s worth running the numbers property by property.

Whether you hold real estate in a self-directed IRA, are weighing a 1031 exchange, or are simply watching for the right opportunity, staying close to local data can help you ask better questions. Before making any decision, talk with your tax, legal, or financial professional about how it fits your situation.

You can research the real estate market for any zip code in the country with unlimited Altos reports with the Beyond Wall Street: Real Estate Accelerator. You also gain access to even more data on single-family rental trends, foreclosure activity, and even individual property reports to power your real estate investment decisions.

Sources and disclosures

Data source: Altos Research market profiles for single-family homes, national and state level, as of October 29, 2026. Year-over-year comparisons use the corresponding week of October 2025. Figures reflect active listing (asking) data, not closed sales, and may differ from other data providers. Past market performance does not guarantee future results.

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James P. Schlimmer is SVP, Real Estate Growth Officer at Equity Trust Company.