Home prices are falling in these 4 former boomtowns – it’s a bad omen for the rest of America

Home prices are falling in four former hotspots – as near-record housing costs push homebuyers away. 

Three of the metros where prices are falling are in Texas, according to new insights from real estate company Redfin.

The sudden drop in values comes after millions of Americans fled to the state during the Covid-19 pandemic – pushing prices through the roof. 

In Austin, home price sales have declined 2.9 percent year over year.

The so-called pandemic ‘boomtown’ has seen an influx of people in recent years – in part due to a thriving tech industry in the city. 

Home prices in San Antonio and Fort Worth have both fallen 1.2 percent, according to the data, while sale prices in Portland, Oregon, are down 0.9 percent. 

Nationwide, price drops are at their highest since November 2022, according to Redfin, which suggests other areas may also see costs decline soon.

Across the US, house prices rose 4.4 percent from a year earlier to an all-time high during the four weeks ending June 2, according to Redfin. 

The median sale price during the period was $392,200. 

But there are early indicators that the national price growth could soften soon, with one in 15 home sellers cutting their asking price over the time period.

In Austin, house prices fell 2.9 percent year-over-year to the beginning of this month. 

Several major tech companies, including Tesla and Oracle, have moved their headquarters to the city in the past few years – and low taxes attracted an influx of well-paid workers during the pandemic. 

According to separate data earlier this year, the Texas state capital is home to the fastest-growing population of millionaires in the US.

In the last decade, the number of millionaires in the city has grown by 110 percent to 32,700.

This boom has priced out some homebuyers from the city – causing prices to now begin to decline. 

Prices in San Antonio and Fort Worth have also been pushed up by an influx of residents in search of a lower cost of living, better quality of life and lack of income tax.

A survey by real estate company Zillow earlier this year found the Lone Star state saw the second highest number of new residents among all 50 states in 2022 – and gained the most Gen Z movers. 

Portland, Oregon, meanwhile, saw the fourth largest year-over-year price decline, according to Redfin. 

In a reversal of growth trends, more people left Oregon that moved into the state in 2022. 

According to Redfin, the typical active listing has been on the market for 46 days – up 2.3 percent year-over-year.

This suggests home listings are growing stale faster than they were a year ago, as high mortgage rates and housing costs are causing would-be buyers to back off.  

Home prices in Fort Worth have both fallen 1.2 percent year on year

Prices in San Antonio were pushed up by an influx of residents in search of a lower cost of living, better quality of life and lack of income tax

The weekly average mortgage rate rose back above 7 percent last week, according to data from government-backed lender Freddie Mac. 

This pushed the median US monthly housing payment to a near-record-high of $2,838.

‘There’s no getting around the fact that it’s expensive to buy a home right now, but some people are having luck negotiating with sellers,’ said Bonnie Phillips, a Redfin agent in Cleveland. 

‘I’ve seen buyers get a home under asking price when it has been on the market for a few weeks.’

Separate data from Redfin earlier this year found that homes in Florida hotspots are also declining in price as supply soars. 

On the west coast of the state, the number of properties on the market is surging, and homes are taking much longer to sell, the real estate company found.