Delistings Trend Below Last Year's Pace As Summer Comes to an End: Realtor.com® August Housing Report
News Corp (NWS), via Realtor.com August 2026 Housing Trends, reports a late-summer housing cool-down with softer demand but fewer seller pullbacks than in 2025.
Rhea-AI Summary
News Corp (NWS), via Realtor.com August 2026 Housing Trends, reports a late-summer housing cool-down with softer demand but fewer seller pullbacks than in 2025.
The national median list price was $424,500, down 1.0% from July and 1.3% year over year, marking a 10th straight annual decline, while 20.4% of listings had a price reduction, up 0.4 percentage points month over month and level with last year. Pending listings fell 0.2% year over year and contract signings declined 3.7%. Delistings were down 12.6% from August 2025 and represented roughly 5.5% of active inventory, avoiding last year’s delisting spike. Active listings reached 1,140,035, up 3.6% year over year, while new listings totaled 401,760, down 5.2% month over month and 0.1% year over year. Homes spent a median of 60 days on market, three days longer than July but unchanged from a year earlier.
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News Explained
Inventory remains 11.1% below typical pre-pandemic levels, while August’s growth partly reflects last year’s delisting wave.
Realtor.com has released its August 2026 housing report: it records a late-summer cool-down, while national inventory remains
The report defines contract signings as the monthly flow of homes entering pending status for the first time, whereas pending listings are the total stock of homes already under contract.
The reported acceleration in annual inventory growth is qualified by its comparison base: August 2025 included a delisting wave that reduced supply, so the latest increase does not by itself establish a sharp current-year market shift.
Into fall, the stated follow-up items are whether the delisting gap versus 2025 persists, whether repeat price cuts increase, and how regional inventory and price-cut differences develop.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
August data shows a cooler late-summer market, though sellers have not repeated last year's retreat from the market
The national median list price was
"August's data shows a housing market entering its seasonal cool-down with less momentum than it had earlier this year," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. "Higher mortgage rates are meeting a point in the calendar when activity typically slows, and buyers appear to be responding more selectively. The key question is whether this is a typical late-summer pause or the start of more persistent softness."
Metric | August | Change | Change | Change | Change over |
Median listing price | -1.0 % | -1.3 % | 34.4 % | -1.9 % | |
Active listings | 1,140,035 | 1.2 % | 3.6 % | -7.7 % | 56.9 % |
New listings | 401,760 | -5.2 % | -0.1 % | -16.2 % | -4.0 % |
Median days on market | 60 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
Price reductions | 20.4 % | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 1.1 |
Median List Price Per Sq.Ft. | -1.1 % | -1.8 % | 48.5 % | 0.8 % |
Listings in pending status fell
Unlike last summer, however, sellers have not responded to softer conditions by withdrawing listings at historic rates. Delistings were down
"Price cuts, pending sales and delistings together can tell you whether sellers are satisfied, panicking, or somewhere in between," said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com®. "August brings a mixed reading: buyer demand softened and price cuts rose modestly above last year's pace, but sellers are still showing more patience than they did during last year's late-summer delisting wave. That difference is helping the market avoid a repeat of 2025's more severe seller pullback, at least for now."
Price Cuts Move Above Last Year's Pace
The
Among the 50 largest metros, price reductions were least common in
Annual Price Declines Ease, but Remain Broad-Based
The national median list price fell
Median list price per square foot fell in 36 of the 50 largest metros.
Inventory Growth Accelerates From a Slower Year-Ago Comparison
Active listings rose
Inventory rose across all four regions. The Midwest (+
New listings totaled 401,760, down
Looking Ahead
As the market moves into fall, Realtor.com® economists will monitor whether the gap in delistings compared with 2025 persists or reverses; whether sellers increasingly rely on price reductions, including repeat cuts; and how regional differences in inventory and price-cut activity evolve, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast.
August 2026 National and Regional Housing Overview
Region | Active Listing | New | Median | Median | Median | Median | Price | Price |
Northeast | 9.1 % | -0.5 % | -3.6 % | -0.9 % | 0 | 14.1 % | 1.2 | |
Midwest | 10.5 % | -0.5 % | 0.0 % | 1.8 % | 1 | 19.6 % | 0.8 | |
South | 1.1 % | -0.9 % | -2.6 % | -2.9 % | -1 | 21.4 % | -0.4 | |
West | 3.2 % | 1.5 % | -2.1 % | -1.0 % | 0 | 22.0 % | -0.3 | |
National Average | 3.6 % | -0.1 % | -1.3 % | -1.8 % | 0 | 20.4 % | 0.0 |
August 2026 Top 50 Metros Housing Overview
Metro | Active Listing | New Listing | Median List | Median List | Median List | Median Days | Price- | Price- |
3.4 % | -3.4 % | 1.2 % | -0.3 % | 2 | 25.0 % | -0.2 | ||
0.3 % | 1.2 % | -9.8 % | -8.1 % | 1 | 27.6 % | -1.1 | ||
19.2 % | 0.7 % | -5.5 % | -3.2 % | 5 | 20.4 % | 1.2 | ||
9.9 % | 3.0 % | 0.0 % | -0.4 % | 1 | 18.8 % | 0.8 | ||
15.0 % | -0.1 % | -0.6 % | -1.5 % | 6 | 14.8 % | -3.0 | ||
29.8 % | 4.8 % | -4.0 % | -2.3 % | 3 | 11.1 % | 1.5 | ||
15.5 % | 0.3 % | -2.5 % | -1.1 % | 4 | 26.0 % | 1.2 | ||
-6.0 % | -7.5 % | 5.4 % | 3.6 % | -1 | 14.6 % | -1.8 | ||
17.1 % | -1.2 % | 1.1 % | -0.7 % | 5 | 21.3 % | 2.4 | ||
13.6 % | 6.0 % | -1.8 % | 1.6 % | 0 | 20.2 % | 2.7 | ||
10.9 % | -1.8 % | -0.1 % | -0.5 % | 3 | 28.2 % | 1.3 | ||
-4.4 % | -2.5 % | -1.2 % | -2.0 % | 0 | 27.5 % | -0.8 | ||
2.1 % | 6.4 % | -4.2 % | -3.4 % | -1 | 31.4 % | 0.0 | ||
13.6 % | 0.8 % | -1.4 % | 1.7 % | 2 | 19.4 % | 1.5 | ||
1.7 % | 2.2 % | 2.4 % | 3.2 % | -2 | 10.1 % | 0.3 | ||
2.2 % | -2.6 % | -1.6 % | -2.2 % | 1 | 21.3 % | -0.7 | ||
20.8 % | 3.5 % | -5.3 % | 4.4 % | 4 | 28.8 % | -0.6 | ||
-16.9 % | 5.5 % | -4.8 % | -2.2 % | -9 | 24.3 % | -5.6 | ||
-0.4 % | -4.4 % | -0.5 % | 1.3 % | 0 | 18.8 % | 1.4 | ||
6.9 % | -2.1 % | -0.9 % | -2.2 % | 2 | 24.2 % | 0.0 | ||
-0.3 % | -2.6 % | -4.5 % | -2.1 % | 0 | 16.6 % | -0.2 | ||
25.4 % | -0.2 % | -1.6 % | 0.7 % | 5 | 23.3 % | 1.8 | ||
9.8 % | -5.4 % | -9.9 % | -4.1 % | 4 | 25.3 % | 1.4 | ||
-15.0 % | -1.0 % | -2.0 % | -0.8 % | -5 | 14.6 % | -2.8 | ||
10.7 % | 2.8 % | 0.0 % | 2.6 % | 4 | 15.6 % | 0.4 | ||
32.9 % | 13.3 % | -3.1 % | -2.1 % | 0 | 20.3 % | 3.3 | ||
12.6 % | 0.6 % | 0.0 % | -0.8 % | 1 | 22.0 % | 0.8 | ||
3.2 % | -1.7 % | -1.4 % | -0.5 % | -2 | 10.2 % | 2.3 | ||
7.8 % | -10.1 % | -1.9 % | 0.1 % | 5 | 23.8 % | 0.9 | ||
-2.5 % | 5.4 % | -1.9 % | -2.6 % | -2 | 23.3 % | -0.3 | ||
13.3 % | 1.4 % | -1.3 % | -0.6 % | 4 | 16.7 % | 1.2 | ||
5.2 % | 0.6 % | -4.8 % | -1.4 % | -3 | 27.6 % | -0.8 | ||
15.0 % | 0.8 % | -1.6 % | 0.1 % | 3 | 20.8 % | 0.6 | ||
2.8 % | -1.7 % | -0.7 % | -2.4 % | 1 | 30.5 % | -0.3 | ||
16.1 % | 4.9 % | -1.7 % | 9.3 % | 1 | 12.1 % | 0.3 | ||
6.2 % | -2.1 % | -1.1 % | -2.3 % | 4 | 24.1 % | -0.8 | ||
20.9 % | 9.3 % | 2.4 % | 1.5 % | -2 | 17.0 % | -0.2 | ||
-4.4 % | 1.5 % | -1.5 % | -1.4 % | -3 | 18.4 % | -0.2 | ||
-4.3 % | 3.8 % | -0.8 % | -0.7 % | -1 | 22.3 % | -0.5 | ||
16.6 % | -0.8 % | -3.4 % | -1.2 % | 0 | 19.7 % | 2.6 | ||
10.9 % | 8.4 % | -2.7 % | 0.6 % | -1 | 30.3 % | -0.6 | ||
3.8 % | 0.0 % | -1.8 % | -3.6 % | 0 | 28.0 % | 1.2 | ||
-4.9 % | 5.5 % | -5.4 % | -2.9 % | 0 | 20.0 % | -1.5 | ||
-13.0 % | 0.0 % | -5.0 % | -3.8 % | -7 | 13.9 % | -0.9 | ||
9.0 % | 16.6 % | -2.1 % | -1.3 % | -4 | 14.6 % | 0.1 | ||
27.3 % | 10.2 % | -3.2 % | -1.8 % | 1 | 23.1 % | 3.1 | ||
-6.4 % | -1.4 % | -6.0 % | -5.6 % | -3 | 25.5 % | -2.0 | ||
-0.6 % | 9.8 % | -2.6 % | -2.5 % | -1 | 20.6 % | -1.9 | ||
12.2 % | 12.9 % | 5.1 % | 2.9 % | -1 | 22.6 % | -0.2 | ||
13.8 % | 2.5 % | -5.8 % | -2.1 % | 4 | 19.0 % | 1.5 |
Methodology
Realtor.com housing data as of August 2026. Listings include the active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com®; new construction is excluded unless listed via an MLS that provides listing data to Realtor.com®. Realtor.com® data history goes back to July 2016. The 50 largest
Contract signings represent the flow of homes entering pending status in a given month (i.e., homes that went under contract for the first time in that period). This is a flow measure, not a stock measure. This distinguishes it from the stock of pending listings, which measures the total number of homes under contract at a given point in time regardless of when they entered that status.
Beginning with our April 2025 report, we have transitioned to a revised national pending home sales data series that applies enhanced cleaning methods to improve consistency and accuracy over time. While the insights and commentary in this report reflect the new series, the downloadable data remains based on our legacy automated pipeline. As a result, there may be slight differences between the report figures and those in the national download file as we transition.
With the release of its January 2025 housing trends report, Realtor.com® has restated data points for some previous months. As a result of these changes, some of the data released since January 2025 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before January 2025) and Realtor.com® economics research reports.
About Realtor.com®
For over 30 years, Realtor.com® has connected buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 real estate site REALTOR® agents recommend, Realtor.com® delivers consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.
Media Contact: Mallory Micetich, press@realtor.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com