Housing Affordability

SEATTLE – October 29, 2026 -- The median U.S. home-sale price fell 0.1% year over year to $389,601 in the four weeks ending Oct. 25, the first annual decline in more than three years, according to Redfin.

Prices decline for a second straight week after three years of gains

The latest drop follows a 0.2% decline the previous week. Prices had risen for three straight years before turning down.

Pending sales fall to the lowest level in records dating to 2021

Pending home sales dropped 1.8% from a week earlier. For the third consecutive week, pending sales declined in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metro areas.

Monthly mortgage payment reaches $2,786, up 10.7% year over year

The median payment is the second-highest in Redfin's records, behind only the prior week. The weekly average mortgage rate was 7.32%, down from 7.4% a week earlier but still near a three-year high.

United States – October 23, 2026 -- Home affordability remains strained in the third quarter of 2026 as mortgage rates rise, even with lower prices and stronger wage growth, according to ATTOM's Q3 2026 Home Affordability Report.

Rate increases outweigh price and wage gains in ATTOM's Q3 2026 affordability data

The report finds that higher mortgage rates are offsetting two factors that would normally ease buyer pressure: lower home prices and stronger wage growth.

ATTOM tracks flipping returns and foreclosure starts across metros and states

ATTOM's Q2 2026 U.S. Home Flipping Report ranks the 10 metros with the largest annual increases in home-flipping return on investment. Its August 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report lists the 10 states with the largest annual increases in foreclosure starts.

Austin, Texas – October 19, 2026 -- Mortgage rates climbed 74 basis points in just over a month, from 6.66% in late August to 7.40% on October 8, cutting purchasing power by 7.2% for a buyer with a $2,000 monthly principal-and-interest budget, according to the Realtor.com Market Clock report.

That shift removes more than $22,000 from the home price such a buyer can afford. The national Market Clock reading moved to 4 o'clock, described as late balanced and loosening toward buyers, from 3 o'clock last quarter. About two-thirds of metros now favor buyers outright or are moving in that direction.

Seller's markets fall from 39 to 27 in one year

Of the 99 metros tracked, 27 are seller's markets, 49 are balanced and loosening, 17 are buyer's markets and six are balanced and tightening. No quadrant holds a majority. Over the past year, buyer's markets rose from 13 to 17.

Tempe – October 13, 2026 -- Ivory Innovations will award the 2026 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability to four winners across three categories at its annual summit on Oct. 14 at Arizona State University.

Winners span construction, finance and policy reform

The prize recognizes work in Construction & Design, Finance, and Policy & Regulatory Reform. This year's winners are TradesFutures, the City of Boston's Boston Acquisition Fund, and the City of Chattanooga's Affordable Housing PILOT. The City of New Rochelle's Downtown Development initiative is a co-winner.

Ivory Innovations describes the honorees as concrete starting points for a national conversation. Their approaches cover preparing more people for construction careers, financing housing acquisition, and using local policy to support affordability and development.

Austin, Texas – September 25, 2026 -- The typical U.S. down payment fell to $27,100 in the second quarter, the lowest second-quarter level since 2021, even as higher mortgage rates pushed estimated monthly payments up 74% over five years to $2,376, according to Realtor.com's second-quarter Down Payment Report.

Down payments drop 9.2% year over year despite seasonal rebound

The median down payment rose seasonally to $27,100, or 13.7% of purchase price, in the second quarter from $25,000, or 12.9%, in the first quarter. That still marked a decline of 9.2% in dollar terms and 0.6 percentage points as a share of price versus the $29,900, or 14.3%, recorded a year earlier. The rebound extended into July, when the typical down payment hit an annual high of $28,800, or 14.0%, still 7.5% below year-ago levels.

Sacramento – September 16, 2026 -- Health Net, a Medi-Cal managed care plan and Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) subsidiary, has invested $2 million in Stanislaus Equity Partners (STEP) to provide gap financing for 50 shovel-ready affordable housing developments in Stanislaus County.

Multi-year grant targets funding shortfalls blocking ready-to-build projects

The multi-year grant will be deployed by STEP through a mix of grants, forgivable loans and low-interest loans, structured to unlock additional public and private capital for developments that are otherwise stalled by financing gaps. STEP said the flexible tools are intended to accelerate delivery of affordable units and reduce displacement risk for residents across the county.