Updated October 23, 2026
Illustration: Quartz
Home price cuts in the U.S. have reached a level Redfin has never recorded for September. The increase is small, though, even in what Redfin calls the strongest buyer's market on record. Redfin traces that gap to choices owners make before and after they list.
The figures come from a Redfin analysis of MLS data for the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026. Redfin's records begin in early 2022, and no earlier year shows a higher price-drop rate for this point in the calendar. In the same window a year earlier, ending Sept. 21, 2025, the share of listings with a price drop was 19.8%. Earlier September readings were 18.8% in 2022, 17.9% in 2023 and 19.0% in 2024. Price drops follow a seasonal pattern, so Redfin compares only the same four-week window across years.
Redfin gives three reasons the rate has not climbed further. Some owners are holding off on listing. Some take their homes off the market rather than accept a lower price. Others price realistically from the start instead of anchoring to 2021 conditions.
Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan ties fast sales to pricing. "Those who sell their homes quickly are the ones who are getting savvier about pricing right from day one," he said. Khan added that sellers who set prices too high may rely on outdated comps or be overly optimistic about a bidding war. Many of them eventually cut, he said, as they face mortgage rates above 7%, an uncertain economy and homes lingering on the market.
Among the 50 most populous U.S. metros Redfin ranked, San Francisco has the lowest share, at 9.6%, down 1.3 percentage points. Redfin counts it among only five seller's markets in the country and links its strength to AI wealth. Its share usually runs fairly low, but this year's figure is below normal for the season. Newark, New Jersey, is next at 12.2% and is also a seller's market. Chicago at 13.3%, New York at 13.6% and Miami at 13.7% complete the five lowest.
The 10 markets that follow are a selection from that ranking, ordered by share. The list opens with Denver, which Redfin says has a bigger share than anywhere else in the country, and closes with Houston. Boston and Jacksonville, both at 23.8%, fall just outside the selection. Boston posted the biggest annual jump in Redfin's table, at 7.6 percentage points.
Indianapolis price drops reach nearly 30% of listings
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Indianapolis had a price drop on 29.9% of homes for sale in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share rose 2.0 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.
Indianapolis ranked second among the 50 most populous U.S. metros in Redfin's analysis. Only Denver had a larger share of listings with a price drop. The other three metros in Redfin's top five are all in Texas.
Redfin classifies Indianapolis as a buyer's market. By Redfin's account, buyers there hold a smaller advantage than they do in some other large metros.
Even so, Redfin reports that sellers in the Indianapolis area are still recalibrating what they expect to get for their homes.
San Antonio sellers outnumber buyers more than two to one
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In San Antonio, 26.8% of homes listed for sale had a price drop in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026. That share rose 0.7 percentage points from the same window a year earlier, according to Redfin.
San Antonio ranked third for price drops among the 50 most populous U.S. metros in Redfin's analysis. Only Denver and Indianapolis posted higher shares.
Redfin reports that sellers in San Antonio outnumber buyers by more than two to one. Put another way, the metro has more than two sellers for every buyer. Redfin gives the same ratio for Dallas and Austin, the other two Texas metros in the top five of its ranking.
Dallas price cuts climb in one of the strongest buyer's markets
Illustration: Quartz
In Dallas, 26.6% of homes for sale had a price drop in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share was up 1.1 percentage points from the same window a year earlier.
That figure places Dallas fourth in Redfin's ranking of the 50 most populous U.S. metros by share of listings with a price drop.
Redfin counts Dallas as one of the three strongest buyer's markets in the nation. The other two are San Antonio and Austin, which are also in Texas.
Of those three Texas metros, Dallas posted the largest annual increase in its price-drop rate.
Austin's price-drop rate holds steady at 26.1%
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Austin's price-drop rate held at 26.1% in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share was unchanged from the same four-week window a year earlier.
Redfin places the Texas capital fifth among the 50 most populous U.S. metros by share of listings with a price drop. Denver, Indianapolis, San Antonio and Dallas rank above it.
The flat reading sets Austin apart from those four metros. Each of them posted a year-over-year increase in its price-drop rate. Austin is also the only metro in this selection with no change at all from a year earlier.
Price reductions remain common in Austin even without an increase. Redfin reports that sellers there often need to lower their asking price to stay competitive. The firm makes the same observation about San Antonio and Dallas.
Portland, Oregon, home price cuts edge up to 25.9%
Illustration: Quartz
In Portland, Oregon, 25.9% of home listings carried a price drop in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share was up 0.9 percentage points from the same four-week window a year earlier.
Minneapolis price drops rise 3.7 points from a year earlier
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In the Minneapolis metro, 25.3% of homes for sale had a price drop during the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share was up 3.7 percentage points from the same four-week window a year earlier.
That annual increase is the largest among the 10 metros in this selection. Denver has the biggest share in Redfin's ranking, but its share rose less than Minneapolis's did. Seattle's gain was also smaller.
The pace of change sets Minneapolis apart from several metros with higher shares. San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Portland, Oregon, all have a larger share of listings with a price drop. Each of them posted a smaller annual change than Minneapolis.
Redfin's report does not attribute the Minneapolis increase to a specific local cause.
Seattle sellers cut prices as buyers grow picky
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In the Seattle metro, 24.3% of homes for sale had a price drop in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026. That share rose 3.5 percentage points from a year earlier, according to Redfin.
Redfin places Seattle's rate above the national average.
Chandra Gordon, a Redfin Premier agent in Seattle, said buyers in the area have enough homes to choose from that they can be picky.
In Gordon's view, a high list price set to leave room for negotiation turns buyers away quickly. She said the better approach is to price a home at market value from its first day on the market.
Fort Worth's price-drop rate barely moves at 24.2%
Illustration: Quartz
In Fort Worth, Texas, 24.2% of home listings had a price drop in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. That share was 0.2 percentage points higher than in the same four-week window a year earlier.
That means roughly one in four homes for sale in the Fort Worth metro carried a cut during the period.
Houston is the only metro on this list where price cuts fell
Illustration: Quartz
Houston's price-drop rate slipped 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier, to 23.9% for the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, according to Redfin. No other metro among these 10 posted a decline in its share of listings with a price drop.
Even after that dip, close to one in four Houston listings carried a price drop.
The rest of the selection either rose or held flat. Austin's rate was unchanged from a year earlier. The remaining eight metros all posted increases.
Houston is one of five Texas metros in this selection. San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth are the other four. Houston's share is the lowest of the five.