Some of today’s home sellers are facing a new and unpleasant reality: They are losing money.
To be sure, most sellers nationwide “are still reaping significant financial gains,” according to a new Redfin analysis. Just 3% of homeowners who sold their property during the three months ending July 31 received less money than they originally paid.
But in a few of the 50 largest U.S. housing markets, a decent percentage of homeowners now are selling at a loss.
Here are the metropolitan areas where the most sellers suddenly find themselves in the red: We count down to the city with the highest rate of sellers taking a loss — 12.3%.
Washington, D.C.
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 3.5%
Here’s a fun fact about the nation’s capital: George Washington never lived there. The White House was not completed until a year after the nation’s first president died.
Oakland, California
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 3.5%
Oakland is home to Lake Merritt. That makes it the only city in the world that has a natural saltwater lake.
Las Vegas
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 3.7%
More than 60,000 pounds of shellfish are consumed each day in landlocked Las Vegas. That is more than in the rest of the states in the U.S. combined.
Philadelphia
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 4.2%
Mural Arts Philadelphia is the largest public art program in America. It helps to foster up to 100 such art projects each year.
St. Louis
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 4.3%
St. Louis was home to the nation’s first gas station. Alas, the city also has the dubious honor of having been the site of America’s first traffic accident.
Phoenix
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 4.3%
For a little more than a decade — up to about 1950 — downtown Phoenix had an underground bowling alley. That’s one way to escape the heat!
Baltimore
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 4.3%
Way back in 1824, Baltimore became the terminus of America’s first federal highway: the National Road.
Cleveland
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 5.8%
When the lights went on in Cleveland in 1879, it became the first city lit by electricity.
New York City
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 5.9%
New York’s famed Central Park has appeared in more than 240 feature films. That makes it the most-filmed public park in the world.
Chicago
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 6.5%
Each year, Chicago celebrates St. Patrick’s Day by dyeing the Chicago River green. Erin go bragh!
Detroit
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 6.9%
While Cleveland was lighting up with electricity in 1879, Detroit was engaged in a first of its own that year: It became the first city to move beyond the “party line” and create individual phone numbers.
San Francisco
Share of homes in this metropolitan area sold in May-July that were sold at a loss: 12.3%
San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge was not intended to be its present color. But when the steel for the bridge arrived painted in orange-red primer, consulting architect Irving F. Morrow decided to stick with it.
Unfortunately for present-day San Francisco, home sellers here are taking the biggest losses of any major city by far. In fact, since last summer, the total value of homes in this city has plunged by $60 billion, according to Redfin.
Where home sellers are least likely to lose money
At the other extreme, here are the cities that have the lowest percentages of sellers losing money:
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida: 1.3% of homes sold in May-July were sold at a loss
- Kansas City, Missouri: 1.2%
- Providence, Rhode Island: 1.2%
- Boston: 1.2%
- San Diego: 1.1%
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