Map Reveals Two Cities With Greatest House Worth Declines

Home prices in two Texas cities registered the largest year-over-year drops for the four weeks ending July 7 at a time when national house prices hit record levels, the real estate platform Redfin said.

To start the month, Austin saw median sale prices go down nearly 2 percent, followed by Dallas, which recorded a more than 1 percent decline. Those cities bucked the national trend where the sale prices shot up close to 5 percent to $397,500 in what Redfin described as “the biggest increase in over four months.”

While the two Texas cities showed price drops, elsewhere prices soared. West Palm Beach reported a nearly 14 percent price increase, while Fort Lauderdale registered a 13 percent jump. The Florida cities were followed by Detroit, Michigan, at about 13 percent, along with New Brunswick, New Jersey. Anaheim, California, saw the median sale price go up 12 percent.

High prices looked to have slowed sales. In West Palm Beach, pending sales—which tend to be a forward indicator that tracks contracts signed—were down nearly 17 percent.

Redfin were baffled why prices were still going up despite reports that demand for homes has waned. But some real estate experts suggested some buyers were able to acquire homes at relatively cheaper prices.

“Homes are sitting longer than they usually do this time of year, which has led to some—but not all—homes selling for a little bit less,” Julie Zubiate, a Redfin Premier agent in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in a news release.

Elevated mortgage rates were still keeping buyers away, she said.

“The longer rates stay high, the pickier buyers are getting,” Zubiate said. “Buyers will jump ship or try to negotiate the price down with any sort of tiny problem. Sellers should take the time to prep, price and promote their homes correctly to find the right buyer.”

On Thursday, some hope for lower mortgage rates came with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling in June, bolstering a case for the Federal Reserve to start slashing borrowing costs. The central bank’s cut will help mortgage rates decline, economists have said.

Meanwhile, recent trends have pointed to a deceleration of borrowing costs for home loans. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.89 percent as of July 11, a decline of 0.6 percent from a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac.

“Following June’s jobs report, which showed a cooling labor market, the 10-year Treasury yield decreased this week and mortgage rates followed suit,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement.

“We’re also seeing more inventory on the market, including a fair number of listings with price cuts, which is an encouraging sign for prospective buyers.”