Sellers Cut as Summer Cools, but Buyers Keep Contracts Moving: Realtor.com® July Housing Report
Rhea-AI Summary
Realtor.com, a News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) company, reported that in July 2026 the U.S. median listing price was $428,950, essentially flat month over month but down 2.4% year over year, the ninth straight annual decline. The share of homes with a price reduction rose to 20.0%, 1.2 percentage points above June and just 0.6 points below July 2025, while pending listings increased 1.3% year over year, the eighth consecutive month of growth.
The median home spent 57 days on market, four days longer than June but one day less than a year earlier, matching the pre-pandemic July norm. Active listings reached 1,126,252, up 2.1% year over year but still 11.6% below typical 2017–2019 levels. Regionally, inventory grew fastest in the Midwest (+9.3%) and Northeast (+8.3%), while list prices fell most in the West (-3.9% YoY) and South (-2.5%), and price-per-square-foot gains were concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast.
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News Explained
The reported
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28 | Rent affordability report | Negative | +2.9% | New York median asking rents reached a record high, while NWS rose 2.88%. |
| Jul 23 | Climate risk report | Negative | -3.9% | Report highlighted substantial home exposure to severe or extreme climate risks. |
| Jul 21 | Earnings date notice | Neutral | -0.8% | News Corp scheduled fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year results for August 5. |
| Jul 21 | Market tool expansion | Neutral | -3.1% | Realtor.com expanded Market Clock coverage to the 100 largest U.S. metros. |
| Jul 20 | Starter home report | Negative | -0.7% | Report showed fewer affordable starter-home listings and continuing affordability constraints. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent Realtor.com-related announcements produced mixed NWS reactions, with two aligned declines and three divergent outcomes.
Key Terms
pending sales technical
median days on market technical
price per square foot technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Price Cuts Converge with Last Year's Pace — Led by a Surprising Pair of Regions — as Pending Sales Mark an Eighth Straight Month of Growth
The national median list price was
"July's data show a market that is cooling seasonally, not coming apart," said Danielle Hale, chief economist, Realtor.com®. "Sellers are making more price adjustments as summer progresses, and buyers are responding more selectively, but homes are still going under contract at a faster pace than last year. The key question for the months ahead is whether price reductions help sustain buyer engagement or signal that sellers are getting ahead of softer demand."
The median home spent 57 days on the market in July, four days longer than in June but one day less than a year ago — the first outright annual decline after 26 consecutive months in which homes took longer to sell than the year before. The July pace matches the pre-pandemic norm for the month.
Metric | July 2026 | Change over June 2026 | Change over | Change over | Change over |
Median listing price | -0.2 % | -2.4 % | 34.3 % | -3.4 % | |
Active listings | 1,126,252 | 2.1 % | 2.1 % | -9.1 % | 62.8 % |
New listings | 423,732 | -8.6 % | 0.0 % | -17.4 % | -10.2 % |
Median days on market | 57 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 23 |
Price reductions | 20.0 % | 1.2 | -0.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 |
Median List Price Per Sq.Ft. | -0.7 % | -2.0 % | 49.4 % | 0.3 % |
Price Cuts Rise as the Gap With Last Year Narrows
Sellers reduced prices on
The regional pattern is notable: price cuts remain least common in the Northeast, at
Among the 50 largest metros, price reductions were least common in
Asking Prices Continue to Ease, With a Persistent Regional Divide
The national median list price fell
Price trends continued to vary sharply by region. Median list prices declined
Inventory Growth Stalls Nationally as Midwest and Northeast Pull Ahead
Active listings rose
Inventory growth was strongest in the Midwest (+
Pending Sales Stay Positive, but Growth Loses Speed
The stock of listings in pending status rose
Still, the pace has softened over the past two months. "The summer test is whether sellers and buyers stay aligned as activity slows," said Jake Krimmel, senior economist, Realtor.com®. "In July, homes are not sitting longer than they did a year ago and pending sales are still positive, which argues for a normal seasonal cooldown. But price cuts are moving closer to last year's pace, so August will be important: if cuts accelerate while pending sales weaken and sellers pull listings, that would be a more concerning combination."
Region | Active Listing | New | Median | Median | Median | Median | Price | Price |
Northeast | 8.3 % | -1.9 % | -1.4 % | 0.6 % | -1 | 13.7 % | 1.0 | |
Midwest | 9.3 % | 3.2 % | 0.2 % | 1.8 % | 1 | 18.7 % | 0.3 | |
South | -0.2 % | 1.3 % | -2.5 % | -2.9 % | -1 | 21.3 % | -1.0 | |
West | 0.6 % | 0.9 % | -3.9 % | -1.2 % | 1 | 21.9 % | -1.2 | |
National Average | 2.1 % | 0.0 % | -2.4 % | -2.0 % | -1 | 20.0 % | -0.6 | |
Metro | Active Listing | New | Median | Median | Median | Median | Price | Price |
1.1 % | -4.7 % | 1.2 % | -0.1 % | 3 | 24.8 % | -3.0 | ||
-3.6 % | -10.6 % | -9.6 % | -8.5 % | 1 | 28.3 % | -3.0 | ||
18.9 % | 11.4 % | -5.5 % | -2.5 % | 2 | 19.8 % | 3.4 | ||
8.5 % | 3.2 % | -3.1 % | -1.1 % | 1 | 18.6 % | 0.3 | ||
14.0 % | 1.3 % | -5.0 % | -1.1 % | 7 | 15.1 % | -3.0 | ||
20.4 % | 17.4 % | -8.2 % | -2.9 % | 4 | 10.5 % | 1.3 | ||
16.5 % | -8.1 % | -2.7 % | -0.7 % | 5 | 26.0 % | -1.2 | ||
-7.0 % | -5.5 % | 4.1 % | 2.9 % | -1 | 14.0 % | -1.4 | ||
19.5 % | 1.9 % | 0.0 % | -0.3 % | 3 | 21.1 % | 1.9 | ||
5.2 % | 6.4 % | 1.7 % | 2.8 % | 0 | 17.9 % | 1.1 | ||
10.8 % | 8.2 % | -0.1 % | 0.3 % | 2 | 26.2 % | 0.1 | ||
-6.5 % | -4.2 % | -0.2 % | -1.8 % | 1 | 28.3 % | -2.8 | ||
-2.9 % | 2.5 % | -3.4 % | -3.0 % | -1 | 30.9 % | -2.0 | ||
13.2 % | 5.2 % | -1.8 % | 0.6 % | 1 | 18.8 % | 1.5 | ||
1.2 % | 4.1 % | 5.7 % | 4.5 % | -1 | 9.0 % | -0.6 | ||
0.9 % | 4.2 % | -2.7 % | -2.1 % | 1 | 20.4 % | -2.6 | ||
18.9 % | 15.9 % | -5.8 % | 4.8 % | 3 | 27.0 % | -2.5 | ||
-20.0 % | -4.1 % | -4.5 % | -3.0 % | -9 | 25.5 % | -3.6 | ||
-2.1 % | 0.1 % | 0.0 % | 2.2 % | -1 | 17.0 % | -1.4 | ||
6.1 % | 2.0 % | -1.1 % | -2.1 % | 4 | 23.7 % | -1.4 | ||
-1.5 % | -2.8 % | -4.5 % | -1.9 % | 1 | 16.0 % | -1.6 | ||
24.9 % | 1.8 % | -1.7 % | -0.2 % | 5 | 21.0 % | -0.1 | ||
11.5 % | 1.9 % | -11.8 % | -6.0 % | 5 | 24.2 % | 1.7 | ||
-16.9 % | -2.9 % | -2.9 % | -1.0 % | -4 | 14.5 % | -3.2 | ||
11.8 % | 2.1 % | -0.2 % | 1.9 % | 5 | 13.4 % | -1.1 | ||
29.3 % | 8.8 % | -2.3 % | -1.9 % | 0 | 18.0 % | 0.7 | ||
12.1 % | -2.1 % | -0.9 % | -0.9 % | 3 | 21.0 % | -3.3 | ||
2.9 % | -4.5 % | -0.4 % | 2.7 % | -2 | 9.7 % | 0.6 | ||
9.5 % | -2.7 % | -2.6 % | -0.3 % | 4 | 23.9 % | 0.5 | ||
-4.1 % | 0.0 % | -1.8 % | -3.0 % | -1 | 21.8 % | -4.1 | ||
14.7 % | -6.9 % | -0.1 % | 0.3 % | 0 | 17.3 % | 3.7 | ||
-2.7 % | 0.7 % | -4.6 % | -1.8 % | -3 | 28.1 % | -2.7 | ||
16.2 % | 2.0 % | 2.2 % | 2.0 % | -1 | 20.4 % | 2.0 | ||
0.5 % | 4.9 % | -0.8 % | -2.3 % | 3 | 31.0 % | -0.4 | ||
11.3 % | 5.1 % | -0.9 % | 8.3 % | 2 | 11.6 % | -1.3 | ||
5.5 % | -5.8 % | -2.2 % | -2.2 % | 2 | 24.2 % | -0.6 | ||
15.2 % | -5.5 % | 0.0 % | 1.9 % | -4 | 16.4 % | 1.0 | ||
-6.1 % | -2.9 % | -1.2 % | -1.5 % | -1 | 17.5 % | -1.7 | ||
-6.6 % | 2.6 % | 0.0 % | 0.3 % | -4 | 22.9 % | -0.8 | ||
15.1 % | 9.6 % | -3.4 % | -1.0 % | 0 | 17.9 % | 1.1 | ||
3.4 % | 3.2 % | -3.4 % | 1.1 % | 2 | 27.0 % | -2.7 | ||
4.7 % | -8.4 % | -4.3 % | -4.3 % | -1 | 25.8 % | -0.4 | ||
-7.1 % | -3.2 % | -6.6 % | -3.0 % | 1 | 20.4 % | -2.5 | ||
-16.3 % | -7.1 % | -4.2 % | -4.8 % | -5 | 14.3 % | -1.3 | ||
2.9 % | 10.4 % | -2.0 % | -3.7 % | 4 | 15.2 % | -0.2 | ||
21.4 % | 6.0 % | -1.3 % | -2.2 % | 5 | 23.0 % | 1.7 | ||
-7.9 % | 1.7 % | -4.2 % | -4.8 % | -1 | 25.4 % | -3.5 | ||
-5.0 % | -0.8 % | -2.1 % | -1.8 % | 1 | 20.0 % | -3.7 | ||
7.7 % | 3.1 % | 5.8 % | 3.0 % | 0 | 21.6 % | -1.8 | ||
11.2 % | 15.7 % | -5.4 % | -2.0 % | 1 | 18.4 % | 2.8 | ||
Methodology
Realtor.com housing data as of July 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
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® 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.
Methodology for cancellations: A contract cancellation is counted if a listing was pending on one day and then back to active the next. It may miss a few that have been entirely delisted.
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.
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
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sellers-cut-as-summer-cools-but-buyers-keep-contracts-moving-realtorcom-july-housing-report-302840361.html
SOURCE Realtor.com