Home Prices Slip as Mortgage Costs Keep Buyers on the Sidelines

The median U.S. home-sale price was $389,601 for the four weeks ending October 25, down 0.1% from a year earlier, Redfin data showed. It was the second consecutive week of year-over-year declines, following a long stretch of rising prices. Sellers cut asking prices on 21.5% of homes, compared with 20.9% a year earlier.

Lower sale prices have not made buying easier for many households. The typical mortgage payment reached $2,786, up 10.7% from a year earlier and near the highest level in Redfin’s records. Freddie Mac put the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.24% on October 29, down from 7.32% the previous week but well above the 6.17% average a year earlier.

Pending sales fell 15.9% from a year earlier to a record low in Redfin’s data, which goes back to 2021. They declined for a third straight week in all 50 of the country’s most populous metropolitan areas. New listings also eased, while housing inventory remained elevated.

Rents moved higher: the national median rose 0.1% in October to $1,384, its first annual increase in three years, according to Apartment List. The national apartment vacancy rate was 7%, though it has been declining from a peak earlier in the year.

In Utah, the statewide median sale price rose 1.9% year over year in September to $530,000. Salt Lake County’s median fell to $550,000, and sales dropped to 990 from 1,093 a year earlier. Preliminary figures showed 771 October sales there, compared with 1,065 in October 2025; the final count was due in mid-November, and a local Realtors spokesman said the gap could narrow as more sales were reported.