August 14, 2026

Pending Home Sales Fall to 3-Month Low

U.S. pending home sales fell 1.3% week over week to their lowest level in three months during the four weeks ending July 19. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.
The decline in homebuying demand comes as weekly average mortgage rates rise to a 11-month high of 6.55%. Additionally, home prices are stubbornly high, sitting just about $900 shy of their all-time peak. The topsy turvy U.S. economy, including the resurgence of the Iran war and rising oil prices, is another factor driving would-be homebuyers to the sidelines.
“The buyers who are in the market have more leverage than they’ve had in years,” said Vanessa Leimback, a Redfin Premier agent in Seattle. “Homes that have been sitting on the market for longer than a few weeks often come with room to negotiate on price and seller concessions. But buyers should remember that desirable, move-in ready homes can still be competitive because many people don’t want to take on renovation costs while mortgage payments are high. Thas why the biggest bargains are often on fixer-uppers.”
On the selling side, new listings ticked up 0.4% week over week, though they are still at their second-lowest level since the start of 2026. Some would-be sellers are holding out, waiting for demand to improve.
For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity

 

Value (if applicable)

Recent change

Year-over-year change

Source

Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate

6.77% (July 22)

Up from 6.75% one week earlier to highest level in a year

Down from 6.78%

Mortgage News Daily

Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate

6.55% (week ending July 16)

Up from 6.43% two weeks earlier

Down from 6.75%

Freddie Mac

Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)

 

Up 6% from a week earlier (as of week ending July 22)

Up 0.2%

Mortgage Bankers Association

Google searches of “homes for sale”

 

Down about 5% from a month earlier (as of July 18)

Down 15%

Google Trends

Touring activity

 

Up 18% from the start of the year (as of July 20)

At this time last year, it was up 36% from the start of 2025

ShowingTime

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending July 19, 2026
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 900+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2021. Subject to revision.

 

Four weeks ending July 19, 2026

Year-over-year change

Week-over-week change (where applicable)

Notes

Median sale price

$408,795

2.5%

 

About $900 shy of record high

Median asking price (seasonally adjusted)

$400,257

2.3%

 
 

Median monthly mortgage payment (seasonally adjusted)

$2,618 at a 6.55% mortgage rate

0.7%

 
 

Pending sales (seasonally adjusted)

327,188

3.1%

-1.3%

 

New listings (seasonally adjusted)

352,350

0.5%

0.4%

 

Active listings (seasonally adjusted)

1,485,408

0.5%

-0.1%

 

Months of supply

3.4

-0.2 pts.

 

4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions

Share of homes off market in two weeks

31.7%

Down slightly

 
 

Median days on market

41

+1 day

 
 

Share of home listings with price drops

20.2%

Down from 21%

 
 

Share of homes sold above list price

28.3%

Up slightly

 
 

Average sale-to-list price ratio

99.1%

Up slightly

 
 

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending July 19, 2026
Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.

 

Metros with biggest year-over-year increases

Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases

Notes

Median sale price

West Palm Beach, FL (11%)
Pittsburgh (7.2%)
Virginia Beach, VA (6.9%)
Detroit (6.7%)
Philadelphia (6.5%)

San Jose, CA (-3.3%)
Seattle (-3.2%)
Nashville, TN (-0.9%)
Los Angeles (-0.8%)
Boston (-0.8%)

Declined in 8 metros

Pending sales

West Palm Beach, FL (13.2%)
Austin, TX (10.8%) New York (9.8%)
Boston (9.5%)
Nassau County, NY (8.2%)

Seattle (-14.5%)
Houston (-13.6%)
Phoenix (-8.3%)
Denver (-6.5%)
Miami (-2.8%)

 

New listings

St. Louis (13.2%)
Anaheim, CA (10.7%)
Pittsburgh (9.3%)
Boston (9.3%)
Warren, MI (8.8%)

Fort Worth, TX (-11.9%)
Dallas (-10.7%)
Miami (-8.9%)
Atlanta (-8.1%)
San Antonio (-6.8%)

 

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-pending-sales-fall-rates-increase

Author

  • Realty Times

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