U.S. home prices are slipping as rents rise for first time in over three years

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Median home-sale price fell 0.1% from a year earlier while national rent rose 0.1%, Redfin and Apartment List said

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Redfin, part of Rocket Companies, said the median U.S. home-sale price fell, breaking a streak that had lasted more than three years, while Apartment List said national rents rose from a year earlier, ending a stretch of the same length.

The median home-sale price was $389,601 in the four weeks ending Oct. 25, down 0.1% from a year earlier. It was the second straight weekly decline, following a 0.2% drop the week before and coming after prices had climbed for three consecutive years.

Apartment List put the national median rent at $1,384 in October, up 0.1%, or $1, from October 2025. Rents fell 0.3% from September, the second straight monthly decline, as the rental market entered its off-season. In October of last year, the monthly decline was 0.8%.

Homebuying demand weakened, according to Redfin. Pending sales fell 1.8% from a week earlier to the lowest level in records dating to 2021, and they declined in all 50 of the most populous metro areas for the third week in a row. The median monthly mortgage payment was $2,786, up 10.7% from a year earlier and the second-highest on record. The average weekly mortgage rate was 7.32%, down from 7.4% a week earlier.

New listings fell 0.6% from the prior week to the lowest level since January, while active listings rose 0.3%. Redfin said there are hundreds of thousands more sellers than buyers, giving buyers more negotiating power than they have had in over a decade.

Among the 50 most populous metros, Seattle (-5.1%), San Jose (-4.9%) and Austin (-4.6%) had the largest year-over-year drops in median sale price. San Francisco had the largest increase, at 15%.

Apartment List said rents are flat compared with a year ago and are declining after adjusting for inflation. The national multifamily vacancy rate was 7% in October, down from a peak of 7.3% in February. Thirty-two percent of multifamily properties offered concessions worth at least one month of free rent, four percentage points more than a year earlier. Units took an average of 36 days to lease.

Rent trends varied by region, according to Apartment List. Rents rose from a year earlier in 35 of the 55 metro areas with populations above 1 million. The San Francisco and San Jose metro areas posted the fastest growth, at 13% and 9%. San Antonio had the sharpest decline among large metros, at 3.8%, and Austin rents were down 1.2%.

According to CNBC, a stalled for-sale market is keeping renters in place, which has helped rents turn higher.

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