Realtor.com exposes crucial housing market shift | Louis Velazquez - Official Website, Entrepreneur, Finance, Technology

When we think of the 2026 housing market, many of our minds immediately go to how dismal mortgage rates have been. The Freddie Mac 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.67% as of Aug. 13. That’s a 0.09% increase from this time last year and 0.35% above the 52-week average.

But my years of reporting on the housing market have taught me something valuable: Mortgage rates are only one piece of the home-affordability puzzle.

The real estate listings website Realtor.com released its Weekly Housing Trends report on Thursday, Aug. 13. This weekly report reveals essential data about various aspects of the housing market, not just mortgage rates.

This weekly report included data from the week ending on Aug. 8. And I’m happy to say that it explains an encouraging shift for potential homebuyers. Rates remain a major obstacle — but several other indicators suggest buyers have gained leverage compared with a year ago.

So while mortgage rates remain elevated, it could be a more favorable time for some buyers to shop for a home, especially with autumn just around the corner.

“For buyers, fall has historically tended to be a more favorable time to shop nationally, as homes that didn’t sell over the summer are still up for grabs with less competition from other buyers,” Glen Morgenstern, Realtor.com economist intern, told TheStreet.

The year-over-year median home price is down

The median listing price was down 1.2% year over year during the week ending Aug. 8. This is a little lower than the previous week’s 2% annual drop.

Morgenstern explained why.

“The gap in prices between this year and last year has narrowed from 2.0% the previous week because last year’s prices fell further over the same summer stretch,” Morgenstern told TheStreet.

The year-to-date change in listing price is also down 2%.

“Part of what’s driving [the listing price decline] is slightly fewer price reductions this week compared to the same time last year,” Morgenstern said.

For the fifth consecutive week, properties with listing price cuts came in at over 100,000.

While this statistic remains significant, it isn’t as drastic as earlier this year or in late 2025. As noted in the Realtor.com Q2 2026 Market Clock, sellers have started pricing their homes more realistically over the months.

National mortgage rates are higher than this time last year, but median home prices are lower.

If you’re able to secure a lower mortgage rate — for example, by buying discount points or, if eligible, using a VA loan — the combination of a lower rate and lower home price could put you in a stronger position.

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Housing inventory has increased

Active inventory is up 3.2% annually. The number of houses listed for sale was almost 1.2 million the week ending on Aug. 8, according to the Realtor.com report.

“Inventory is up 3.2% versus a year ago because of buildup earlier in 2026, when inventory growth was running 8-10% annually,” Morgenstern told TheStreet.

Year-over-year inventory growth bottomed out at 1.7% seven weeks prior. The current rate of 3.2% is the fastest since April.

More Housing Market:

Housing inventory is one of the most important factors affecting buyers’ negotiating power. When there aren’t enough houses on the market for everyone who wants to buy a home, that lack of supply creates more competition. This leads to bidding wars and higher selling prices.

The U.S. has a housing shortage of about 4.7 million units, according to a Zillow analysis. These higher inventory numbers are good, but the country has a long way to go.

With lower national listing prices and higher inventory, today’s buyers have more favorable conditions in some respects than people did in August 2025.

Key takeaways from the Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends update

Home prices are still decreasing, but the decline is slowing. Home price decreases are starting to slow down. The 1.2% annual decrease reported for the week of Aug. 8 was the mildest decline since April.
Houses aren’t staying on the market as long. The year-over-year number of days on the market hasn’t budged since the week of Aug. 1. “The more notable pattern: this is the eleventh straight week homes have sold at the same pace or faster than a year earlier,” Morgenstern wrote for Realtor.com.
New listings have inched down. Year-over-year new listings have decreased by 0.7%. Year-to-date new listings are down by 0.1%. Those aren’t major changes, but they’re still worth paying attention to. My analysis is that sellers could be backing off if they live in buyer’s markets or if buyers aren’t biting due to relatively high mortgage rates.
Your local housing market may look different. Realtor.com’s weekly update includes national data, but real estate trends vary by region, state, city, and even neighborhood. The company’s Market Clock shows trends by region and the largest 100 metro areas in the U.S. Working with a Realtor who knows your local market well is also a game-changer. Source: Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends: U.S. Market Update (Week Ending August 8, 2026)