Sellers Are Cutting Home Prices the Most in These Markets—Led by One ‘Weirdly Nice’ City

As the market slowed in October due to seasonal trends and elevated mortgage rates, more than 1 in 5 listings throughout the country saw a price reduction, the highest October level since 2022.

For a few major metros, the share of price-reduced homes has pulled significantly ahead of the national share of listings with price reductions, which stood at 20.5%.

Price reductions were most common in Salt Lake City, where a whopping 31.8% of listings had price cuts as of October. The median listing price in October was $559,000 in Salt Lake City, a 3.5% decrease from October 2025, according to the Realtor.com economic research team’s monthly housing trends report.

The share of price-reduced homes in Salt Lake City increased 1.6 percentage points over last October.

Salt Lake City is followed closely by Indianapolis, where 31.7% of homes have had a price reduction, and Denver, with 30.9%.

Of the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., these 10 had the largest share of price reductions in October:

- Salt Lake City, UT: 31.8%

- Indianapolis, IN: 31.7%

- Denver, CO: 30.9%

- Portland, OR: 3.6%

- Phoenix, AZ: 29.5%

- Columbus, OH: 27.6%

- Charlotte, NC: 27.1%

- San Antonio, TX: 27.0%

- Raleigh, NC: 26.8%

- Dallas-Fort Worth, TX: 26.4%

Of these top 10 cities for price reductions, eight also topped the list in October 2025, confirming these are mostly longstanding softer markets, according to Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel.

Raleigh and front-runner Salt Lake City are the latest to join the top 10 cities where price cuts are most frequent.

For Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Portland, and Denver, price cuts can be common as the weather grows colder and the market has less movement, says Krimmel.

“These markets in particular compared to the rest of the list, which is mostly Sun Belt, can be very unfavorable to sellers when the weather gets cold and buyers stay away until spring,” the economist says.

The reason for widespread price decreases in Salt Lake City may go a step further, showcasing a unique aspect of the city’s market: Buyers are “weirdly nice,” according to Joel Carson, who has been a real estate agent in the area for over 30 years.

Price reductions were most common in Salt Lake City, where 31.8% of listings had price cuts as of October. The median listing price in October was $559,000, a 3.5% decrease from October 2025, according to Realtor.com data. (Dansker Digital / Adobe Stock)

“Utah is very unique in that people don’t lowball offers. They don’t want to offend the seller, so they’ll wait for that price reduction before they offer,” Carson tells Realtor.com. “Sellers are always asking, ‘Why wouldn’t they just offer me less?’ And the reason is that we have weirdly nice people here, and they don’t want to be offensive.”

For Carson and fellow agents in the area, the understanding of this politeness helps them properly advise sellers.

When the market is slow, like it has been this fall, he tends to take homes he’s listing off the market for 30 days to let them rest. They can then be relisted with fresh days on the market and a significant price reduction.

When buyers are hesitating, pricing ahead of the market is key to staying competitive. By pricing 5% to 8% under current value, listings attract buyers who may be wary of asking for price concessions, according to Carson.

Indianapolis ranked second for price reductions in October, following Salt Lake City closely. According to Utah real estate agent Joel Carson, the right price reduction will attract buyers, even when mortgage rates and affordability questions have slowed the market down. (Chase/Adobe Stock)

Uncertainty surrounding the midterm elections, elevated mortgage rates, and concerns about affordability slowed October down, with pending sales down 10.5% and contract signings down 17% year over year.

Still, the right price reduction can result in multiple bites from buyers, Carson says.

“Just this last week, we were at $345,000 on a house and we went to $320,000 and got an offer, so we’re under contract. We actually got two offers,” says Carson. “Once you know what your seller’s bandwidth is, I try to do a large price reduction versus these tiny little ones, and it’s very effective.”

Of the 50 largest metros, 12 saw price cuts on a quarter or more of listings, and 34 are running above their cut rate last year.

Metros where price cuts were the least common in October were New York City at 12.6%; Buffalo, NY, at 13%; and Hartford, CT, at 14.2%.