Top 10 Most Depreciated U.S. Cities

Home prices are falling! But not in Portland…

Home prices have dropped significantly in some markets in 2022 and a recent article in the New York Times listed the top 10 cities where home prices have depreciated. Portland did not make the list of top 10 cities where prices are falling.

Where did prices drop the most?

From June – September 2022, prices dropped the most in Austin TX, Phoenix AZ, Palm Bay FL, Charleston SC, Ogden UT, Denver CO, Las Vegas NV, Stockton CA, Durham NC, Spokane WA.

What does it all mean?

Well, before we can truly understand the depreciation happening in these markets, we need to take a look at the context. What happened in these markets before this decline in prices?

Cities on this list saw prices fall between 7 and 10% in 2022. However, in Austin, TX, where depreciation was 10% in 2022, in Q4 alone in 2021, prices skyrocketed by 30%. The kind of appreciation these cities saw in 2021 during the pandemic were just not sustainable levels of appreciation, so what we are seeing here is somewhat of a leveling out after a massive increase in prices in these markets.

Why did Portland not make this list? 

Portland still has many attractive, desirable neighborhoods that people are moving to. We still have people choosing to move to Portland because it’s more affordable than other cities of its size. There is not enough inventory in Portland for the amount of buyers we have and, with the urban growth boundary in place, there is not a whole lot of new construction that’s affordable to first time buyers within the metro area.

Why is depreciation not happening to this degree in our market?

Portland price stability varies from area to area. We are still seeing multiple offers in some areas. There are some areas where there has been appreciation in 2022 but it’s not happening to entire neighborhoods. It really depends on the hyperlocal market in a particular area, which is why it’s so important to work with someone you know, like, and trust to guide you about whether a particular property is a good investment.

Are Portland prices going to tumble?

We all have that friend or neighbor who says they’re waiting for Portland prices to lower significantly before swooping up their next property at a discount price. While we are still in a market where sellers are making concessions, such as making repairs or buying down a buyer’s interest rate, that window is starting to close as more buyers re-enter the market. Nothing in the current market suggests we are going to get to a point where buying a good property is going to be a bargain. And while there are always those who need to sell, many in the Portland area have so much equity in their home right now that they’re not hurting to sell, which drives down inventory and, again, makes 

What’s the Takeaway?

The takeaway message here is that Portland will likely not see huge price drops to balance out the market as inventory remains low. If you’ve been on the fence about buying, the market is more friendly for buyers than it has been and this is likely to change soon. If interest rates come down more, more buyers will resume their home buying journey, making it a more competitive market for buyers.

While it may sound like bad news that Portland home prices aren’t falling, what it means is that Portland is still a great place to buy as your investment will retain value. Check out the video below as we dig in deeper to this topic!