Redin Says Homebuyers May Want To Act Before It's Too Late as Sales Rise 10%
Now may be the time for hesitant homebuyers to leap into ownership. Home prices are still rising, but mortgage rates dipped in April. Overall, the price gap between sellers and buyers is narrowing and more Americans are feeling secure enough in their jobs to consider a major purchase.
That's the view from Redfin, based on data for the four weeks ended May 10, 2026, from the nation's 50 most populous metros. In that period, median sale prices rose 2.2% year-over-year to $387,740 – just 1.4% below the $404,927 median asking price. Mortgage rates fell for three consecutive weeks in April while applications rose 4% week-over-week. Pending sales climbed 9.6% year-over-year on a seasonally adjusted basis in every metro except Houston, Detroit and Seattle.
Complicating the picture, sellers pulled back a little in the period. New listings fell 1.6% year-over-year. Redfin speculated this could be due to sellers waiting to see if home prices might rise even more or to avoid giving up their own existing low mortgages, especially in an economy with an uncertain outlook.
Even so, Redfin commented that the buyers' market may be past its peak and that serious folks in the market should consider moving forward sooner rather than later.
"As more buyers enter the market, they may lose some negotiating power," said Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research. "More buyers in the market equals more competition, which could create bidding wars, push prices up, and make it harder to secure that perfect home."
Statistics offered in the report reveal the changes the market is undergoing. Mortgage-purchase applications were up 7% from a year earlier, while median monthly mortgage payments fell by 1.7% to $2,609. Pending sales rose 9.6% over the year, led by Pittsburgh and Minneapolis (17.3% each) and Newark (16.7%).
There was a 1.6% decline in new listings but a 1.2% increase in active listings. The share of homes off the market within two weeks remained unchanged at 39.7%. Homes stayed on the market for a median of 42 days, three days longer than before.
By metro, the biggest annual sale price increases occurred in Kansas City, MO (9%), San Francisco (7.9%), Cincinnati (5.4%), Nassau County, NY (5.2%) and Chicago (5.1%). Metros where prices fell most sharply were San Jose (-4.1%), Seattle (-3.3%), Sacramento (-2.8%), Austin (-2.2%) and Miami (2%).
Source: GlobeSt/ALM