Homebuyers Have More Fresh Options Than They’ve Had in 4 Years

Homebuyers are gaining more power, with new listings jumping and demand flat.

Here’s what you need to know about the housing market for the four weeks ending August 30:

Fresh listings hit their highest level since August 2022. New listings of U.S. homes for sale rose 2.1% from a week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, reaching their highest level in four years. The total number of homes for sale ticked up 0.4% week over week. That’s welcome news for house hunters, who have increasingly more options and negotiating power.
Demand isn’t matching the uptick in supply. Pending home sales were essentially flat (-0.1%) from a week earlier, dipping to their lowest level since February. The disconnect between growing listings and sluggish sales is exacerbating the buyer’s market we’re seeing in most of the country.
High housing costs are the biggest hurdle for prospective buyers. The typical U.S. home-sale price rose 2.2% year over year, while the average weekly mortgage rate was 6.66%, near its highest level in the last year.
But list prices are coming down. The median U.S. asking price inched down 0.1% year over year–a tiny dip, but a sign that sellers may be adjusting their expectations as buyers negotiate and push back against high costs.
Some homes are still attracting bidding wars. Just over one-quarter (25.9%) of U.S. homes that sold went for over their asking price. Move-in ready homes in desirable neighborhoods are selling fast, according to Redfin agents. Plus, some metro areas are hot: Prices are jumping in San Francisco and West Palm Beach as affluent buyers snap up high-end homes, and pending sales are rising in relatively affordable markets like Milwaukee and Cincinnati.

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	6.91% (Sept. 2)	Highest level in over a year	Up from 6.5%	Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.66% (week ending Aug. 27)	Essentially unchanged from a week earlier	Up from 6.56%	Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)		Up 2% from a week earlier (as of week ending Aug. 28)	Essentially unchanged (down 0.2%)	Mortgage Bankers Association
Google searches of “homes for sale”		Down 13% from a month earlier (as of Aug. 29)	Down 6%	Google Trends
Touring activity		Up 7% from the start of the year (as of Aug. 28)	At this time last year, it was up 22% from the start of 2025	ShowingTime

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Aug. 30, 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 Aug. 30, 2026	Year-over-year change	Week-over-week change (where applicable)	Notes
Median sale price	$398,632	2.2%
Median asking price (seasonally adjusted)	$392,828	-0.1%
Median monthly mortgage payment (seasonally adjusted)	$2,592 at a 6.66% mortgage rate	0.7%
Pending sales (seasonally adjusted)	308,282	-2.5%	-0.1%	Lowest level since February
New listings (seasonally adjusted)	383,795	8%	2.1%	Highest level since August 2022
Active listings (seasonally adjusted)	1,511,313	2.4%	0.4%
Months of supply	4	Up from 3.7		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	30.4%	Essentially unchanged
Median days on market	45	Unchanged
Share of home listings with price drops	20.9%	Up from 20.2%
Share of homes sold above list price	25.9%	Up from 25%
Average sale-to-list price ratio	98.7%	Up from 98.5%

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Aug. 30, 2026 Redfin’s metro-level rankings 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	San Francisco (9%) West Palm Beach, FL (8.1%) Cincinnati (7.8%) Milwaukee (7.4%) Pittsburgh (7.4%)	Austin, TX (-7.1%) Seattle (-6.2%) Fort Worth, TX (-1.9%) San Jose, CA (-1.7%) Orlando, FL (-1.4%)
Pending sales	Milwaukee (8.8%) Virginia Beach, VA (3.4%) Cincinnati (3.2%) Chicago (2.9%) Montgomery County, PA (2.8%)	Seattle (-15.1%) San Diego (-14.2%) Denver (-13.5%) Houston (-13%) Nassau County, NY (-10.2%)
New listings	San Jose, CA (29.4%) Boston (26.1%) Nashville, TN (21.5%) Seattle (16.9%) Philadelphia (14%)	Dallas (-11.2%) Atlanta (-8.8%) Fort Worth, TX (-7%) San Antonio (-6%) Indianapolis (-3.3%)