Housing markets across the United States are flashing unmistakable warning signs, with homes sitting unsold for longer periods in nearly all of the country’s largest metropolitan areas. According to a new report from Realtor.com dated September 16, 2025, 44 of the 50 biggest U.S. metros have seen a noticeable slowdown, with the problem most acute in Miami, where the average home now takes a staggering 90 days to sell—up from 74 days just a year ago. It’s a trend that has experts and homeowners alike wondering if the long-feared price crash is finally on the horizon.
Nationwide, the typical home spent 60 days on the market in August 2025, seven days longer than in August 2024 and well above pre-pandemic norms, as reported by Realtor.com. This pattern isn’t limited to Miami: Orlando and Tampa both saw homes linger for 77 days (up from 63 and 64 days, respectively), Jacksonville hit 74 days (up from 61), and Austin reached 72 days (up from 65). Nashville, meanwhile, experienced the largest year-over-year jump, with homes sitting for 59 days in August—21 days longer than the same time last year. Even Las Vegas, once a darling of rapid real estate turnover, saw homes sitting for 56 days, up from 42 in August 2024.
What’s driving this sudden stall? Experts point to a combination of high prices, shifting mortgage rates, and growing economic uncertainty. Buyers are hesitant, worried about taking on large financial commitments in a rocky economy. As a result, sellers are increasingly cutting prices or pulling their listings from the market, hoping to wait out the slowdown. In Miami, the market is so saturated that a record number of homeowners are delisting out of sheer frustration—57 de-listings for every 100 new listings in July 2025, according to Realtor.com.
Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, summed up the mood, saying, "This is an all too perfect embodiment of housing market conditions throughout much of the South and, to a lesser extent, the Western US. Markets with booming prices, sales, and new construction over the pandemic and post-pandemic era are certainly coming back down to earth." His comments reflect the growing realization that the days of frenzied sales and bidding wars may be firmly in the rearview mirror, at least for now.
The slowdown is most pronounced in the South and West, where the average time on market has risen by eight days compared to last year. In the Midwest, the increase is three days, and in the Northeast, it’s two days. Out of the 50 metros tracked in the study, 27 are now seeing listings linger even longer than their pre-pandemic averages.
But it’s not just about the time homes are spending on the market. Supply is quietly building as well. A steady stream of new construction is pulling buyers’ attention away from existing homes, while record-high cancellation rates suggest buyers are backing out of deals at the last minute. In Las Vegas, for example, housing supply surged by 31 percent over the past year—the largest increase among any major U.S. metro and roughly triple the national average, according to a separate report from Redfin. Yet, with buyers increasingly sidelined by soaring prices or put off by the city’s downward trajectory, many homes remain unsold.
Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, noted, "Metros where price corrections are steepest are among those with the largest increase in inventory compared to before the pandemic." She added that price cuts are most significant in markets where there are simply too many homes available. In fact, housing prices have already started to slide in several former boomtowns: Tampa is down 6.2 percent, Austin 6 percent, Miami 4.6 percent, Orlando 4.3 percent, and Dallas 3.9 percent over the past year, according to Zillow data.
Dallas, in particular, is drawing the attention of housing economists. Amy Nixon, a housing economist, warned in June 2025 that the city is poised for even steeper price cuts. She points to a growing glut of unsold homes, stubbornly high mortgage rates, a slowdown in domestic migration, and widespread tech layoffs as factors that will likely force prices even lower. "As the surplus of current listings grows, stubbornly high mortgage rates, a slowdown in domestic migration, and widespread tech layoffs will only cause prices to be slashed even more," Nixon told the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, a separate report from Realtor.com predicts that home sales will plunge to a 30-year low in 2025, with just four million transactions expected across the U.S.—the lowest level since 1995, according to the National Association of Realtors. This prediction underscores the depth of the current slump and has many in the industry bracing for a potentially deeper downturn. Buyers, already skittish due to unpredictable mortgage rates, are also contending with surging homeowners association (HOA) fees and punishing insurance rates, further dampening demand.
Even as more homes come onto the market, the anticipated rush of buyers has failed to materialize. Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, commented on the surprising lack of activity: "Even with more homes on the market, buyer response has remained muted compared to what we’d expect from similar supply shifts in the past." This muted response is leaving sellers with little choice but to slash prices or offer concessions in hopes of attracting buyers.
Improper pricing is another culprit behind the glut of unsold homes. Experts emphasize that determining the right listing price—based on current market conditions and neighborhood analysis—can make all the difference. Yet, in a market where uncertainty reigns, even seasoned realtors are finding it challenging to hit the sweet spot.
It’s not all doom and gloom, at least not yet. While the widespread cooling doesn’t amount to a nationwide crash, the breadth and depth of the slowdown have certainly raised fears that one could be on the horizon. The housing market’s fate will likely hinge on broader economic trends, mortgage rate movements, and whether buyers regain enough confidence to re-enter the market in significant numbers.
For now, the message from the data is clear: patience is becoming a necessity for sellers, and caution is the watchword for buyers. As the U.S. housing market adjusts to a new, slower reality, all eyes are on the months ahead to see just how far the pendulum will swing.
