U.S. existing-home sales fell 1.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million, even as the median sales price climbed to a record for the month, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. The monthly pullback came as mortgage rates pushed to their highest point of 2026, adding pressure to buyers already contending with elevated prices.
Despite the monthly drop, sales were up 0.7% from a year earlier, and NAR said year-to-date sales remain 2.4% higher than the same stretch of 2025. The report, based on closings of previously owned single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, is the housing industry’s most closely watched monthly gauge of resale activity.
Prices Extend a Three-Year Streak
The national median existing-home price rose 2.0% year-over-year to $434,100 in July, NAR said, marking the 37th consecutive month of annual price gains. Single-family home prices climbed to a median of $440,300, up 1.9% from a year earlier, while condo and co-op prices rose 2.2% to $371,800.
Sales of single-family homes fell 1.9% month-over-month to an annual rate of 3.69 million but were up 0.8% from July 2025. Condo and co-op sales held flat at an annual rate of 370,000, unchanged from both June and a year earlier.
Total housing inventory fell 1.9% from June to 1.54 million units, a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace — unchanged from the prior month. Inventory was also down 0.6% from a year ago. A six-month supply is generally considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers, so July’s reading points to a market that still favors sellers, though less severely than in recent years.
Mortgage Rates at a 2026 High
NAR’s report pegged the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.54% in July, up from 6.49% in June but still below the 6.72% recorded a year earlier. Rates have continued climbing since then: Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed rate at 6.69% for the week ending August 6, its fifth straight weekly increase and the highest level of 2026.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69% this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in the survey release. “While mortgage rates continue to influence affordability, the housing market is showing signs of adjustment, with listing prices modestly below year-ago levels and for-sale inventory improving from the limited supply seen in recent years.”
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the resale market has held up better than the rate environment might suggest. “Home sales have been remarkably stable, even amid the rising mortgage rate environment of the past few months,” Yun said, adding that “the housing market would be thriving if average mortgage rates were to return near 6%.”
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index registered 103.3 in July, up from 98.3 a year earlier — an improvement driven mainly by income growth rather than falling rates. NAR said the year-over-year affordability gain was strongest in the West (up 7.3%) and South (up 6.1%), compared with smaller improvements in the Midwest (4.0%) and Northeast (1.5%).
Regional Breakdown
Sales trends diverged sharply by region in July. In the Northeast, sales rose 2.0% from June to an annual rate of 500,000, unchanged from a year earlier; the median price climbed 5.2% year-over-year to $563,800, the steepest regional price gain in the report. The Midwest saw sales fall 2.0% month-over-month to 970,000 but rise 2.1% year-over-year, with a median price of $342,900, up 2.8%.
The South, the country’s largest regional market, recorded the sharpest monthly decline, with sales down 3.1% to an annual rate of 1.86 million and flat from a year earlier; the median price rose 0.9% to $371,700. Western sales held flat month-over-month at 730,000, up 1.4% year-over-year, with a median price of $622,200 — essentially flat annually at up 0.2%, the smallest price gain of any region.
Buyer Profile
Properties typically stayed on the market 29 days in July, up from 28 days in June and 28 days a year earlier, per NAR’s Realtors Confidence Index survey. First-time buyers accounted for 29% of sales, down from 33% in June but up from 28% a year ago. All-cash purchases made up 26% of transactions, up slightly from 25% in June but down from 31% a year earlier. Investors and second-home buyers accounted for 14% of purchases, and distressed sales — foreclosures and short sales — held at 2% of the market, unchanged from both June and a year ago.
What It Means
The verified facts: sales fell month-over-month but rose year-over-year, prices set another record for the month, inventory remains tight relative to historical norms, and mortgage rates have climbed to their highest point of the year. Yun’s interpretation — that sales stability despite higher rates reflects underlying resilience in the market — is his stated view, not an independently verified conclusion. NAR’s report, covered elsewhere on RealtyWire’s tracking of metro-level price gains and the rising share of million-dollar homes, continues to point to a market where price growth has outpaced any relief from falling rates.
What to watch: NAR’s pending home sales index, which tracks signed contracts ahead of closings, will offer an early read on whether the July slowdown continues into August. Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey will show whether the 2026 high in mortgage rates persists or eases, a factor NAR and outside economists both point to as the biggest swing factor for the fall selling season. More detail on regional and metro-level trends is available on RealtyWire’s housing market page.
