U.S. home prices slipped below year-ago levels in October for the first time in more than three years, as high mortgage rates kept buyers on the sidelines and homes piled up on the market, according to new monthly reports from Redfin and Zillow released Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Redfin said the national median sale price was $388,634 in October, down 0.4% from October 2025. That is the first year-over-year decline since May 2023. Just two months earlier, prices were still running 2.5% above the prior year.
The October numbers
Redfin’s report, which uses seasonally adjusted figures for October 2026, showed a market where sellers outnumber willing buyers:
- Pending sales fell 3.6% from September to their lowest level since 2013, apart from the pandemic shutdown in April 2020.
- Closed sales fell 2.1% to the lowest level since December 2023.
- New listings dipped 1%, to the lowest in more than two years.
- Total homes for sale rose 0.9% to the highest level since early 2020.
- 61% of homes sold for less than their original list price, and a record 36% had at least one price cut.
- About 15% of pending deals fell out of contract.
Zillow’s October data, reported by Newsweek, pointed in the same direction. Newly pending sales were down 17% from a year earlier, the largest annual drop since 2023. Zillow’s typical U.S. home value fell 0.6% from September and was up just 0.7% from a year earlier.
“It’s a buyer’s market, but not many people can afford to buy,” Redfin head of economics Chen Zhao said in the report.
Why prices are slipping
Mortgage rates are the main reason. Redfin said 30-year rates averaged 7.33% in October, up from 6.86% in September. Freddie Mac’s weekly average stood at 7.18% as of Nov. 5, down three weeks in a row from 7.40% in mid-October but still well above 6.22% a year earlier, according to Newsweek. Upstormed News has been tracking mortgage rates hovering near 7%.
Zillow estimated the typical monthly mortgage payment, with 20% down and before taxes and insurance, at $2,004 in October, up 12.8% from a year earlier. Counting taxes, insurance and maintenance, housing costs now take about 41.5% of a median-income household’s income, up from about 39.2% a year ago, Newsweek reported.
The two companies measure prices differently: Redfin tracks the median price of homes that actually sold, while Zillow’s index estimates the value of all homes. Both show price growth has stalled.
Where prices rose and fell
Among the metro areas Redfin tracks, the biggest annual price drops were in Austin, Texas (down 6.5%), Seattle (down 5.1%) and Nashville, Tennessee (down 4.9%). San Francisco stood out the other way, up 16.8%, followed by New Brunswick, New Jersey (up 7.7%) and Pittsburgh (up 6.5%). Pending sales fell most sharply in Seattle, San Diego and Denver, each down more than 24% from a year earlier.
South Florida looked different from much of the country. West Palm Beach had one of the smallest annual declines in pending sales, down 5.8%, and active listings fell 12.4% there. Fort Lauderdale’s listings fell 13.5%, the largest drop among the metros Redfin highlighted, and homes there went under contract in about 90 days, 18 days faster than a year earlier. Jacksonville’s listings fell 11.9%. Tampa moved the other way, with homes taking 21 days longer to sell. The cooling also shows up in other recent data, including reports that condo sellers now outnumber buyers more than 2 to 1.
Why it matters for families
For buyers who can manage today’s rates, a softer market can mean more choices, more room to negotiate and more sellers willing to cut prices or offer concessions. “There are deals to be had for buyers able to brave the affordability headwinds in the coming months,” Zillow chief economist Mischa Fisher told Newsweek. For sellers, it means pricing realistically from the start may matter more than it has in years.
Still, a 0.4% price dip does little to offset higher monthly payments, and many households remain priced out. Every local market is different, and this is general information, not financial or investment advice. Families weighing a move may want to compare loan offers and talk with a lender or housing counselor.
What to watch next
- Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey on Thursday, which will show whether rates keep easing.
- The National Association of Realtors’ October existing-home sales report, expected later this month.
- Zillow’s outlook, which expects rates to stay above 7% into roughly mid-2027, according to Newsweek. Fisher said he expects the slowdown to ease into the new year.
Upstormed News will keep following the housing market as new data arrives. Meanwhile, the latest weekly survey showed mortgage applications jumping 6.2% as rates briefly dipped.
More real estate from Upstormed
Read more: Homes for Sale Up 7.4% as New Listings Drop, Realtor.com Says; Miami Bucks Trend
If you’re house hunting, are falling prices enough to make up for 7% mortgage rates?
Sources: Redfin via PR Newswire, “October Marks the First Month in 3 Years With a Decline in U.S. Home-Sale Prices” (November 10, 2026); Newsweek, “Zillow Economist Gives Somber Outlook on Housing Market, Mortgage Rates” (November 10, 2026); WRE News, “Redfin: U.S. Home Prices Fall in October 2026” (November 10, 2026)
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