Signs continue to point to a buyer’s market taking shape — even as U.S. home sale prices hover at record highs. According to a new report from Redfin, now part of Rocket Companies, sellers are pricing more realistically, and the median monthly mortgage payment has dropped to its lowest level in four months.
For the four weeks that ended July 13, 2025, the median U.S. asking price rose just 2.9% year over year to $407,000 — the smallest gain since early 2025. That’s barely above the median sale price of $401,120, which rose 1.7% annually, though that still represents an all-time high.
“The small size of that gap is a sign that sellers are starting to price their homes lower as they realize it’s a buyer’s market,” the report states.
Meanwhile, the median monthly mortgage payment, calculated at a 6.72% average rate, dipped to $2,699, down from recent months even as the long-term average rate edged higher.
Inventory continues to build: Active listings are up nearly 12% year over year, even as new listings dipped slightly by 0.3%, the largest drop since January. Pending sales fell 1.9%. Redfin forecasts that the national median sale price could decline 1% year over year by the end of 2025.
Signs of improving affordability are beginning to lure buyers back. Touring activity is up 14% year-to-date versus just 4% at this time last year. Google searches for “homes for sale” hit a nearly two-year high, and the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 13% year-over-year rise in purchase applications, despite a 12% week-over-week drop.
“There’s a backlog of inventory, especially when it comes to condos, townhouses, and newly built homes,” said Jim Fletcher, a Redfin agent in Tampa, Fla. “Builders are giving all sorts of incentives, like mortgage-rate buydowns and covering closing costs, to get homes off their books.”
Even with these shifts, the market remains tight in desirable urban cores. “Move-in ready homes in the center of town,” Fletcher added, are usually purchased “relatively quickly if they’re priced right.”
Redfin’s national metrics, based on data from 400+ metros, show median days on market rose year over year by five days to 38, while the share of homes selling above list dropped to 27.9%, down from 32% a year ago. Homes selling within two weeks fell to 34% — a 4-point drop.
Metro-Level Standouts
Cleveland led the nation with an 11.8% year-over-year rise in median sale price, followed by Newark (10.2%), Detroit and Nassau County (7.7%), and Cincinnati (7.6%). On the flip side, Oakland, Calif. saw the steepest drop at -7.6%, with notable declines in West Palm Beach, Fla. (-5.1%), Tampa, Fla. and Atlanta (-2.6%), and Austin, Texas (-2.4%).
Pending sales surged in Virginia Beach, Va. (up 12.1%) and Phoenix (up 8.7%), but plunged in San Jose, Calif. (-18.8%), Miami (-15.1%), and several Florida metros, including Tampa and Orlando.
While uncertainty remains, especially around rate fluctuations, the data suggests opportunity is rising — for both buyers and the mortgage professionals helping them finance their homes. But, once again, the results show considerable variance by locality.
