Pending home sales are declining, with some house hunters waiting for mortgage rates to drop lower and some feeling jittery about the economy.
New listings of U.S. homes for sale rose 2.3% year over year during the four weeks ending October 5, the biggest increase in over three months. Some sellers listed their homes in September as the weekly average mortgage rate dipped to 6.26%, a 10-month low, in hopes that lower rates would lure buyers.
But buyers aren’t budging. Pending sales fell 1.3% from a year ago, the biggest decline in five months, and the typical home that sells is taking 48 days to go under contract, a week longer than last year and the longest September span since 2019.
Redfin agents in much of the country say house hunters are waiting for rates to drop more before making a move. Mortgage rates, which have ticked up to 6.34% from last month’s low point, are still more than double pandemic-era lows, and rising home prices are exacerbating high costs. The median sale price is up 2.1% year over year, the biggest increase in six months.
Some prospective buyers are also wary of making a big purchase while the economy is uncertain, with the government shutdown and recent weak jobs reports making some Americans insecure about their finances.
For buyers who are motivated to move and have the means to afford today’s still-high home prices, the silver lining of the slow market is that they have negotiating power.
“It’s a buyer’s market, with house hunters asking for price reductions, doing inspections, and requesting concessions,” said Jesse Landin, a Redfin Premier agent in San Antonio. “In terms of making offers, buyers are throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Sellers who want to make it stick, will. For example, one of my sellers, who needed to move, was getting desperate after her house had been on the market for over 100 days. She sold for $15,000 under asking price and included the furniture and outdoor amenities like the barbecue and fire pit.”
Buyers looking for a deal may want to consider condos, as there are 72% more condo sellers than buyers nationwide, a bigger gap than other home types. Another option is new construction; agents say some builders are offering mortgage-rate buydowns and other incentives in parts of the country with a lot of new homes.
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 | 6.36% (Oct. 8) | Up from 12-month low of 6.13% three weeks earlier | Up from 6.26% | Mortgage News Daily |
| Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.34% (week ending Oct. 2) | Up from 6.26% two weeks earlier | Up from 6.12% | Freddie Mac |
| Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) | Down 1% from a week earlier (as of week ending Oct. 3) | Up 14% | Mortgage Bankers Association | |
| Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index | Down about 1% from a month earlier (as of week ending Oct. 5) | Down 13% | A measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents | |
| Google searches of “homes for sale” | Up 6% from a month earlier (as of Oct. 6) | Up roughly 20% | Google Trends | |
| Touring activity | Up 18% from the start of the year (as of Oct. 3) | At this time last year, it was up 3% from the start of 2024 | ShowingTime | |
Key housing-market data
| U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Oct. 5, 2025
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. |
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| Four weeks ending Oct. 5, 2025 | Year-over-year change | Notes | |
| Median sale price | $389,350 | 2.1% | Biggest increase in 6 months |
| Median asking price | $401,242 | 2% | |
| Median monthly mortgage payment | $2,580 at a 6.34% mortgage rate | 2.1% | Down slightly from a week earlier |
| Pending sales | 79,690 | -1.3% | Biggest decline in 5 months |
| New listings | 91,338 | 2.3% | Biggest increase in about 4 months |
| Active listings | 1,212,765 | 8% | Smallest increase since Feb. 2024 |
| Months of supply | 4.4 | +0.3 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 | 31.2% | Down from 32% | |
| Median days on market | 48 | +7 days | |
| Share of homes sold above list price | 23.2% | Down from 26% | |
| Average sale-to-list price ratio | 98.4% | Down from 98.8% | |
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Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Oct. 5, 2025 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. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Metros with biggest year-over-year increases |
Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases |
Notes |
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| Median sale price | Detroit (11.6%)
Cleveland (9.7%) Providence, RI (6.9%) San Jose, CA (6.4%) Cincinnati (5.7%) |
Dallas (-2.8%)
Austin, TX (-1.9%) Houston (-1.7%) Atlanta (-1.6%) Tampa, FL (-1.2%) |
Declined in 11 metros |
| Pending sales | San Francisco (17%)
West Palm Beach, FL (10.1%) Cleveland (6.7%) Riverside, CA (6.2%) Columbus, OH (5.6%) |
Houston (-15.5%)
Seattle (-13.8%) San Antonio (-13%) Denver (-12.6%) Las Vegas (-12.1%) |
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| New listings | Washington, D.C. (10.7%)
Pittsburgh (10.4%) Philadelphia (9.8%) Detroit (8.6%) Montgomery County, PA (8.1%) |
Orlando, FL (-13.5%)
San Antonio (-12.1%) Anaheim, CA (-11.2%) Denver (-10.5%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-10.3%) |
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Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.
