Half the Country's Home Prices Are Falling. Is Your Metro in the Other Half?

Half the country's home prices are falling — and the other half is quietly compounding. In June, 197 of the 895 metros we track were down year over year on price. The correction is real. It just isn't national. The map also flipped. The metros falling hardest are the expensive ones everyone chased in 2021 — Austin, Naples, Denver, Tampa. The metros quietly rising are the cheap ones: Peoria up 7.4% at a $175,000 typical home, Youngstown up 6.2% near $180,000. Up more, cost less. That is the reverse of the last cycle. In this episode of the 5-Minute PRIME Podcast, host Martin Maxwell reads the actual map and hands you the two numbers that decide a metro — price direction and rent direction — because only about 6% of metros are falling on rent. When a price comes down and the rent holds, your yield doesn't fall. It rises. Tune in to learn: The two-number read — why one number will lie to you, and which pair fits on an index card The Powell Spread — the gap between the 10-year Treasury and the rate you actually get has been parked near two full points all year; that gap, not the Fed, is what stands between you and a cheaper mortgage The +5 Rule as a function — the green line moves with the 10-year, so put a real listing through the deal math at the rate you can actually get today Where cheap turns into a trap — a metro can be cheap because its jobs and people are leaving Is your metro in the half that's falling, or the half that's compounding? And do you know which of your two numbers moved? Martin breaks down what the 2026 data actually means for where you buy next — and if you're weighing two metros against one down payment, this week's $80,000 allocation decision walks the same math end to end. Subscribe now to read the map before the headlines read it for you. Thank you for tuning in to the 5-Minute PRIME Podcast! Ready for more tips to master personal finance and real estate investing? Visit REIPrime.com for additional resources and strategies to build your wealth. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone looking to level up their finances. Follow us on social media for daily updates and more actionable advice!