Homes.com Report: U.S. Home Prices Rise 2.6% Despite Expanding Inventory as Sales Continue to Grow

Key Terms

mortgage lock-in effect financial

The mortgage lock-in effect describes when homeowners avoid selling or refinancing because their existing mortgage rate is much lower than current market rates, so they stick with their house to keep the cheap loan. Like someone keeping a long-standing phone plan because switching would cost more, this reduces how often homes change hands and alters the timing of mortgage repayments, which matters to investors in housing markets, mortgage-backed securities, and regions dependent on worker mobility.

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National home-price growth remained modest in July, even as more homes came onto the market, but local markets and individual property types continued to vary from the national summary.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Homes.com, a CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) leading online residential marketplace, released its July 2026 housing market report, showing the national median sale price at $400,000, up 2.6% from July 2025. Home sales increased 2.9% year over year, while homes for sale rose 4.4% from a year earlier. Taken together, those figures point to a housing market that has remained firmer than many observers expected given the increase in mortgage rates during the spring and summer.

United States Sale Prices Key Indicators July 26

Market conditions vary across major metros and housing types

Even with relatively steady national trends, housing market conditions continued to differ across major metropolitan areas. Several large markets posted stronger home-price growth, including Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and New York, while prices were softer in markets such as Raleigh, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Jose. These differences underscore the increasingly important roles that local supply and demand play in shaping market outcomes.

Differences were also evident across housing types. Nationally, single-family home prices increased 2.5% from a year earlier, compared with gains of 2.3% for condos and 0.8% for townhomes. Inventory growth was strongest among townhomes, while single-family homes and condos experienced more moderate increases in homes for sale.

“July’s data show that home prices have continued to hold up despite conditions that many observers would have expected to place more downward pressure on the market,” said Brad Case, Homes.com Chief Residential Economist. “Mortgage rates rose substantially between late February and late July, but the mortgage lock-in effect appears to be easing, and more owners have been willing to put their homes on the market. Buyers, too, showed a greater willingness to transact at higher mortgage rates.”

Overall, July reflected a housing market characterized by modest national price growth, expanding inventory, and sales activity that remained above year-earlier levels. While local markets and housing types followed different paths, national home prices continued to show surprising durability in the face of a less favorable interest-rate environment and a larger supply of homes for sale.

Additional market insights and reports are available at https://www.homes.com/reports/.

About Homes.com

Homes.com is the fastest-growing residential real estate marketplace and a leading destination for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals. A brand of CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP), Homes.com is redefining online real estate by putting agents and homeowners first through a more transparent, agent-friendly marketplace.

Unlike traditional real estate portals, Homes.com is built around a simple principle: Your Listing, Your Lead™. By connecting consumers directly with the listing agent, Homes.com helps agents win more listings, generate more leads and deliver greater value to their clients. Millions of buyers use Homes.com’s powerful search tools, rich property content, and AI-driven experiences to discover homes and connect with local real estate experts.

Backed by the largest marketing investment in residential real estate, Homes.com has invested $1.25 billion to build nationwide brand awareness, generating more than 100 billion impressions and establishing Homes.com as a household name among consumers. The platform continues to experience rapid growth, with 83 million average monthly unique visitors*, 115% year-over-year growth in organic search traffic, and more than 36,000 Member Agents joining in just two years.

Homes.com Membership gives agents exclusive marketing advantages and unmatched exposure to help grow their businesses. Based on an internal analysis of approximately 11,000 Member Agents, Members earned an average of $36,400 more in commission during their first year of membership. Members win 60% more listings and received five times more leads than non-member agents**.

For more information, visit Homes.com.

*The Homes.com Network, which includes Homes.com, the Apartments Network, and the Land Network, averaged 83 million monthly unique visitors through July 2026, according to Google Analytics.

** This figure represents an average of 11,000 agents who completed one full year of membership and is not a guarantee of future results. Individual results may vary based on market conditions, geographic location, agent activity, and other factors.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, online marketplaces, and 3D digital twin technology. Founded in 1986, CoStar Group is dedicated to digitizing the world’s real estate, empowering all people to discover properties, insights, and connections that improve their businesses and lives.

CoStar Group’s major brands include CoStar, a leading global provider of commercial real estate data, analytics, and news; LoopNet, the most trafficked commercial real estate marketplace; Apartments.com, the leading platform for apartment rentals; Homes.com, the fastest-growing residential real estate marketplace; and Domain, one of Australia’s leading property marketplaces. CoStar Group’s industry-leading brands also include Matterport, a leading spatial data company whose platform turns buildings into data to make every space more valuable and accessible; STR, a global leader in hospitality data and benchmarking; Ten-X, an online platform for commercial real estate auctions and negotiated bids; and OnTheMarket, a leading residential property portal in the United Kingdom.

CoStar Group’s websites attracted 118 million average monthly unique visitors in the second quarter of 2026, serving clients around the world. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, CoStar Group is committed to transforming the real estate industry through innovative technology and comprehensive market intelligence. From time to time, we plan to utilize our corporate website as a channel of distribution for material company information. For more information, visit CoStarGroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260818601137/en/

Media Contact:
Matthew Blocher
CoStar Group
(202) 346-6775
mblocher@costar.com

Source: CoStar Group