With the recent indicators of a housing market slowdown, a new ranking shows the 10 real estate markets experiencing the greatest impact. Spoiler alert: 7 out of 10 are on the West Coast.
Based on annual price, days on market, inventory, and price reduction changes in the largest 100 U.S. metros over a 12-month period ending in October 2018, Realtor.com's analysis identifies Stockton, Calif., east of San Francisco, as the metro with the biggest slowdown. Stockton had 299.2 percent growth in listings with price reductions, and a 34.7 percent increase in inventory. San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. rounded out the top 3. Outside the Western U.S., Millennial mecca Nashville ranked fourth, with a 32 percent jump in inventory and 22.5 percent more listing discounts.
"There's a rebalancing that needs to happen," says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. "Prices have risen so high in some of these markets that it's very tough from an affordability perspective [for buyers]. ... It's not surprising to me that we're seeing a little bit of a leveling off." The dreaded Housing Bubble isn't poised to pop. There are simply more homes for sale now and fewer buyers vying for them. In other words, the market is returning to some semblance of reality.