Price cuts don't wait for winter. In 35 of the 100 largest metros, the share of listings with a price reduction is highest in September, after the spring rush, and in 85 metros it peaks between July and October. Nationally, 18.2% of listings carried a price cut in a typical month over the past year.
Stagingmate ResearchFor each metro, the month of the year with the highest average share of listings with a price reduction over 36 months. Within each metro, the correlation between monthly median days on market and price-cut share, and the median days on market in the months when price cuts were in the top quarter vs bottom quarter. National share: state price-cut shares weighted by active listings.
Realtor.com figures cover listings on Realtor.com and are medians for each month; a metro's median can move when the mix of homes listed changes. Realtor.com reports the share of listings with a price cut each month, not how long each home waited before its first cut, so the plan's "days before the first cut" is approached through timing and days-on-market patterns instead.
metros where price cuts peak in September.
of US listings had a price cut in a typical month, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.
of listings in Phoenix, AZ had a price cut, the most of any large metro.
is the peak month for price cuts in 35 of the 100 largest metros.
Sellers list in spring at hopeful prices. By late summer, the homes that haven't sold get cut, just as buyer search starts to fade.
| Metro | Listings with a price cut | Median days on market | Peak cut month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | 27.8% | 63 | June |
| Portland, OR | 26.3% | 64 | August |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 25.7% | 59 | August |
| Denver, CO | 25.5% | 54 | July |
| Tampa, FL | 25.0% | 74 | June |
| San Antonio, TX | 24.6% | 69 | August |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 24.6% | 56 | September |
| Austin, TX | 24.1% | 71 | July |
| Indianapolis, IN | 24.0% | 54 | October |
| Charleston, SC | 24.0% | 56 | July |
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Stagingmate Research (2026). Price cuts peak in September in 35 of the 100 largest metros. https://stagingmate.com/research/how-long-houses-sit-before-the-first-price-cut
Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. For the full dataset or a local cut, email press@stagingmate.com.
Most often in September: it is the peak month for price cuts in 35 of the 100 largest metros.