Builders cut prices in these 10 metro areas as buyers pull back
A Realtor.com analysis found the biggest builder markdown activity in Fresno, Charleston, San Antonio and other large U.S. markets.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
New-home builders are trimming prices across some of America’s hottest construction markets, with Fresno, Calif., topping a Realtor.com ranking of large metro areas where builder discounts are most common.
The pressure point is plain: mortgage rates have moved higher, buyers have become harder to win over, and builders cannot wait out the market the way many individual homeowners can. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.55% as of Thursday, above the sub-6% levels that briefly lifted buyer hopes in February.
Realtor.com’s analysis, based on June 2026 data for the 100 largest U.S. metro areas, identified the markets with the largest share of builders cutting prices on newly built homes.
The 10 metro areas with the most builder price cuts
- Fresno, Calif.
- Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
- Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Nev.
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas
- Greensboro-High Point, N.C.
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz.
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
- Winston-Salem, N.C.
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, Colo.
The cuts are showing up even as the broader housing market remains expensive. MarketWatch reported that existing-home prices recently reached a record high, while newly built homes are increasingly being offered with discounts in some communities.
Builders are under a different kind of pressure than typical sellers. A homeowner can pull a listing and wait for a better moment. A builder with completed homes has carrying costs and a business model that depends on moving product.
That strain has filtered into industry sentiment. MarketWatch reported that the spring selling season disappointed builders, and weak expectations for summer sales kept builder confidence low in June.
Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note that “the housing market is going nowhere fast.” Allen said demand for new homes had already been soft before the conflict in the Middle East, with more existing homes for sale taking business from builders. He added that recent increases in mortgage rates have made conditions tougher for home builders.
A July survey by the National Association of Home Builders found that 37% of builders lowered prices to help sell homes. The trade group also found that close to six in 10 builders offered sales incentives, including help with closing costs or upgrades such as a free washer and dryer.
The size of the markdowns varies by builder, location and home type. MarketWatch reported that D.R. Horton has lowered asking prices in one Summerville, S.C., community to make monthly payments more manageable.
In Fresno, MarketWatch reported that one builder in a new community was advertising discounts of up to $50,000 on some homes. Lennar has also cut prices in certain Fresno communities by as much as $22,000, according to MarketWatch.
New homes remain costly even with discounts. The national median sales price for a newly built home was $424,900 in May, the latest month available, up 2% from a year earlier. Previously owned homes posted a median sale price of $440,600 in June.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.