Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Realtor.com: Home sellers trim prices as summer market cools
More homeowners lowered asking prices in July as the housing market settled into its seasonal slowdown, but buyers continued signing contracts at a pace above last year, according to the latest Realtor.com report.
The U.S. housing market settled into a typical summer slowdown in July as more sellers cut asking prices while buyers continued signing contracts at a modest pace, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
The national median listing price was $428,950 in July, down 2.4% from a year earlier and marking the ninth consecutive month of annual price declines, the report found. At the same time, 20% of active listings featured price reductions, up from June and approaching last year's level as sellers adjusted expectations.
Despite softer pricing, buyer activity remained resilient. Pending home sales increased 1.3% year-over-year in July, extending a streak of annual gains to eight months, although the pace slowed from earlier this spring.
Homes spent a median of 57 days on the market, four days longer than in June but one day fewer than a year ago, the first annual improvement after more than two years of longer selling times, according to Realtor.com.
"July's data show a market that is cooling seasonally, not coming apart," Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. "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 report found notable regional differences. Median list prices fell 3.9% in the West and 2.5% in the South, while the Midwest posted a slight 0.2% increase. Inventory growth also was strongest in the Midwest and Northeast, while the South and West remained relatively flat.
In San Diego County, the median list price of a single-family home was $922,500 last month, down 6.6% from a year earlier. The number of active listings declined 7.1% year-over-year in July, while new listings fell 3.2%.
Approximately 20.4% of listings in San Diego last month saw price reductions, 2.5 percentage points fewer than a year ago, and homes took one day longer to sell than they did last July.
"The summer test is whether sellers and buyers stay aligned as activity slows," Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel said in a statement. "In July, homes [nationwide] 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."
The national median listing price was $428,950 in July, down 2.4% from a year earlier and marking the ninth consecutive month of annual price declines, the report found. At the same time, 20% of active listings featured price reductions, up from June and approaching last year's level as sellers adjusted expectations.
Despite softer pricing, buyer activity remained resilient. Pending home sales increased 1.3% year-over-year in July, extending a streak of annual gains to eight months, although the pace slowed from earlier this spring.
Homes spent a median of 57 days on the market, four days longer than in June but one day fewer than a year ago, the first annual improvement after more than two years of longer selling times, according to Realtor.com.
"July's data show a market that is cooling seasonally, not coming apart," Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. "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 report found notable regional differences. Median list prices fell 3.9% in the West and 2.5% in the South, while the Midwest posted a slight 0.2% increase. Inventory growth also was strongest in the Midwest and Northeast, while the South and West remained relatively flat.
In San Diego County, the median list price of a single-family home was $922,500 last month, down 6.6% from a year earlier. The number of active listings declined 7.1% year-over-year in July, while new listings fell 3.2%.
Approximately 20.4% of listings in San Diego last month saw price reductions, 2.5 percentage points fewer than a year ago, and homes took one day longer to sell than they did last July.
"The summer test is whether sellers and buyers stay aligned as activity slows," Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel said in a statement. "In July, homes [nationwide] 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."
