Homes are taking longer to sell in these once-popular markets

Some of the hottest markets in the country are showing signs they might be in trouble as homes linger on the market longer—and those formerly flourishing metros aren’t unique by any means.

Among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, 39 saw homes staying longer than last year, according to the Realtor.com® June 2025 housing market report.

All four regions—the South, Northeast, Midwest, and West—saw increases in time on the market, reflecting broader cooling trends, with the sunnier states seeing the longest slowdowns.

Year over year, homes in the South spent eight more days on average on the market; the West showed seven more days; the Northeast three more days; and only the Midwest was essentially the same with one more day, due to its continued affordability, climate migration, and lack of inventory.

And just over half (26) of the top 50 markets are now seeing listings sit longer than their pre-pandemic averages, with almost all of them in the South and West, according to the report. It’s another indication of the geographic divergence in housing market conditions.

Where is it taking the longest to sell?

These metros are seeing the longest time-on-the-market increases year over year:

Nashville, TN (+20 days)

Orlando, FL (+15 days)

Miami, FL (+15 days)

Tucson, AZ (+12 days)

It’s not shocking that two of the four markets are in Florida, given the Sunshine State’s issues with higher condo fees in the wake of the Champlain Towers collapse, skyrocketing insurance costs or the difficulty of procuring it, and the increase in extreme weather events.

“It’s just returning to normal, how it was pre-COVID,” Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO of Echo Fine Properties in Miami, tells Realtor.com. “Miami has been in the news lately for slowdowns overall, but it’s mostly due to the condo market. Homes are still being sold, albeit at a slower pace.”

Another factor has entered the mix: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Deportations and some foreigners feeling unwelcome have stopped foreign purchases from occurring,” Lichtenstein says. “That has slowed down Miami, which is an international market dependent on South and Central America, Canada, and other countries.”

Foreigners who would have previously purchased a property for their Florida college-bound children have also been scared off, he says.

However, the agent sees hope on the horizon in the form of New York City‘s liberal Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Lichtenstein adds that the election “has already prompted interest from New Yorkers and businesses to escape more taxes, as a lot of the financial firms in New York City on Wall Street have already relocated to Miami.”

Branden Rivero of Prop Hunters in Miami Lakes says that while he clearly sees the slowdown in condos, single-family homes are still a hot commodity.

“There’s a huge difference between single-family and condo, complete ends of the spectrum,” he tells Realtor.com. “We still lack quality inventory for the single family. Depending on the area, I still have homes sold before they are even listed.”

And Jill Penman of ONE/Sotheby’s International Realty, who sells in South Florida, says that buyers and sellers are caught in a dance of one having little motivation to sell due to being locked in to their mortgage rates and the other being disinclined to shell out COVID-19-era prices.

“They aren’t willing to overpay and will ride it out,” she says of these buyers.

As for Orlando, local agent Martin Orefice of Rent to Own Labs says inventory is part of the problem—not necessarily the lack of it, but the mismatch between what buyers want and what sellers have.

“Most of the homes on the market are big and expensive, and most people looking for homes are younger first-time homebuyers, many of whom work at local theme parks or have recently graduated from UCF or other nearby universities,” he tells Realtor.com.

“People just can’t afford the homes that are on offer. Even retirees, the other big source of growth for us, are looking to downsize and live near water.”

Good news for buyers

All in all, agents see the slowdown as an opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff.

In a time when the American dream of owning a home is out of reach for so many, this can only be welcome news to buyers as sellers are forced to let go of their inflated prices.

“I do not think [the slowdown] is a bad thing,” Penman says. “It just weeds out real motivated sellers from the ones that are not serious.”

The Realtor.com report aligns with that sentiment.

“With growing inventory and homes taking longer to sell, the U.S. housing market is undoubtedly shifting in a buyer-friendly direction,” the report notes, finding more price reductions in 2025 than in any year of Realtor.com data. However, this signals selective discounts, not widespread plummets.

In June, the national median list price held at $440,950, essentially flat since the previous month. However, prices are beginning to fall in the West and South, with -8% and -9% declines, respectively.