UNITED STATES, Sept. 12 (DC Times Online) — Realtor.com’s August housing analysis found that median listing prices per square foot fell from a year earlier in 36 of the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, extending a nationwide decline to 10 straight months.
The measure tracks asking prices for homes listed for sale. It is not the same as the price buyers paid in completed transactions. Realtor.com’s report does not show how listing prices compared with closed-sale prices.
Nationwide, the median listing price per square foot fell 1.8% year over year in August, according to Realtor.com Research. The declines were not spread evenly across the country, and some large markets recorded increases.
Which metros saw the biggest declines?
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area had the largest annual drop, with its median listing price per square foot falling 8.1%, Realtor.com reported. The median listing price in the metro was $499,990.
The next-largest declines were:
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida: down 5.6%; median listing price of $449,900.
- Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas: down 4.1%; median listing price of $299,995.
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California: down 3.9%; median listing price of $908,700.
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas: down 3.6%; median listing price of $349,900.
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, Colorado: down 3.4%; median listing price of $599,900.
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland: down 3.2%; median listing price of $425,000.
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California: down 2.7%; median listing price of $1.05 million.
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida: down 2.6%; median listing price of $449,900.
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington: down 2.4%; median listing price of $525,000.
These figures describe metropolitan areas, not necessarily the central cities named in everyday discussion. For example, the San Francisco figure applies to the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area, which includes communities across the broader region.
Why does price per square foot matter?
Price per square foot gives a way to compare home prices when the size of homes listed in a market changes. A median is the midpoint: half of the listings are priced above it and half below it.
Because the figure is based on listings, it reflects what sellers are asking rather than what homes ultimately sell for. It also does not show whether prices fell because individual homes were listed for less, because the mix of homes on the market changed, or because of both factors.
Realtor.com’s supplied August analysis does not include metro-by-metro listing counts, sales volume, days on market or price-cut data. It also does not establish a direct cause for each market’s decline.
Were all regions moving lower?
Realtor.com reported that national median list prices fell year over year in the Northeast, South and West, while remaining flat in the Midwest. The reported regional changes were a 3.6% decline in the Northeast, a 2.6% decline in the South and a 2.1% decline in the West.
The regional figures refer to median listing prices, while the metro ranking above refers to median listing price per square foot. Those are related but different measures.
Where did prices rise?
Some major metropolitan areas moved against the broader trend. Providence, Rhode Island, recorded the largest increase in median listing price per square foot, up 9.3% from a year earlier. Indianapolis rose 4.4%, and Chicago rose 3.6%, according to Realtor.com.
That split shows why national housing figures can conceal sharply different local conditions. In August, the largest reported per-square-foot declines were concentrated in several Sun Belt and Western metros, while some Midwest and Northeast markets posted gains.
Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel said the pattern included markets that grew rapidly during the pandemic-era housing boom. The report’s underlying data show where asking prices changed, but the supplied results do not independently verify how mortgage rates, inventory, demand or other market forces affected each metro.