Declining mortgage rates have pushed monthly payments down to their lowest level since the start of the year, leading to a modest improvement in demand. But Redfin agents report that many prospective buyers are waiting for rates to drop lower before making a move.
The weekly average mortgage rate is sitting at 6.58%, its lowest level in 10 months. Falling mortgage rates have pushed the median U.S. monthly mortgage payment down to $2,616, its lowest level since the start of the year.
Lower housing costs are bringing some house hunters off the sidelines. Pending home sales rose 1.6% year over year during the four weeks ending August 27. That marks two straight months of increases in pending sales after they fell for most of 2025. (It’s worth noting that sales were especially slow at this time last year as buyers waited for the Fed to cut interest rates amid election uncertainty.) Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a seasonally adjusted measure of tours and other buying services from Redfin agents–is up about 3% from a month ago, and home tours are rising much faster this year than the same time last year.
“Buyers are circling,” said Ali Mafi, a Redfin Premier agent in San Francisco. “House hunters are feeling more confident about buying a home now that mortgage rates have started to decline. Some are making offers now, though others are sitting tight, betting that rates will fall further. I’m telling buyers to act now because it’s still a buyer’s market and most sellers are willing to negotiate. If rates do plummet, the market will get competitive.”
But many buyers are still waiting on the sidelines. It’s worth noting that Redfin agents in places including Seattle and Nashville didn’t see a bump in demand over the weekend. They say a lot of prospective buyers are waiting until the Fed cuts interest rates in September to buy. But Redfin economists say today’s mortgage rates likely already reflect the upcoming rate cut.
On the selling side, new listings are up 1.9% year over year. Though that’s a small uptick, it’s the biggest increase in over two months. Sellers had been pulling back in response to slow homebuying demand, but some on-the-fence sellers may be moving forward now that rates have come down a bit.
For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Leading indicators
| Indicators of homebuying demand and activity | ||||
| Value (if applicable) | Recent change | Year-over-year change | Source | |
| Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.51% (Aug. 27) | Lowest level in nearly a year | Up from 6.43% | Mortgage News Daily |
| Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.58% (week ending Aug. 21) | 10-month low | Up from 6.49% | Freddie Mac |
| Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) | Up 2%from a week earlier (as of week ending Aug. 22) | Up 25% | Mortgage Bankers Association | |
| Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index | Up 3% from a month earlier (as of week ending Aug. 24) | Down 3% | A measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents | |
| Google searches of “homes for sale” | Up 5% from a month earlier (as of Aug. 25) | Up 15% | Google Trends | |
| Touring activity | Up 27% from the start of the year (as of Aug. 18) | At this time last year, it was up 10% from the start of 2024 | ShowingTime | |
Key housing-market data
| U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Aug. 24, 2025
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. |
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| Four weeks ending Aug. 24, 2025 | Year-over-year change | Notes | |
| Median sale price | $395,500 | 2% | |
| Median asking price | $398,975 | 3.3% | |
| Median monthly mortgage payment | $2,616 at a 6.58% mortgage rate | 5.2% | Lowest level since January |
| Pending sales | 83,666 | 1.6% | |
| New listings | 91,756 | 1.9% | |
| Active listings | 1,216,627 | 12.1% | Smallest increase since March 2024 |
| Months of supply | 4.3 | +0.5 pts. | 4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions |
| Share of homes off market in two weeks | 31.1% | Down from 34% | |
| Median days on market | 44 | +8 days | |
| Share of homes sold above list price | 25.3% | Down from 29% | |
| Average sale-to-list price ratio | 98.6% | Down from 99.2% | |
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Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Aug. 24, 2025 Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Metros with biggest year-over-year increases | Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases |
Notes |
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| Median sale price | Detroit (12.4%)
Pittsburgh (9.6%) Cleveland (8.2%) Virginia Beach, VA (8.1%) New Brunswick, NJ (6.6%) |
Dallas (-3.4%) Oakland, CA (-2.7%) Orlando, FL (-2.2%) Portland, OR (-1.9%) Denver (-0.9%) |
Declined in 10 metros |
| Pending sales | Pittsburgh (12.1%)
Cleveland (9.4%) Columbus, OH (8.9%) Phoenix (8.1%) Austin, TX (5.6%) |
Houston (-9.4%)
Seattle (-8.5%) Miami (-8.2%) Orlando, FL (-8%) Detroit (-8%) |
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| New listings | Pittsburgh (14.5%)
Montgomery County, PA (10.9%) Baltimore (7.8%) New Brunswick, NJ (6.4%) Cleveland (6%) |
Orlando, FL (-14%)
Tampa, FL (-10.7%) West Palm Beach, FL (-10.4%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-9.3%) Miami (-8.6%) |
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Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.
