Statistics · 2026 · Real Estate
U.S. Housing Market Statistics (2026)
The median list price across WealthyBud’s 950 tracked U.S. metros is $324,600 as of September 2026, while the National Association of Realtors puts the median price of closed existing-home sales nationwide at $440,600, a record high for June 2026. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 7.28%, and active listings are rising year-over-year in about seven in ten tracked metros.
Key takeaways
- The median list price across WealthyBud’s 950 tracked metros is $324,600, while NAR reports a $440,600 median for closed home sales in June 2026.
- Malibu, CA (ZIP 90265) is the priciest market WealthyBud tracks at $5.89M; Canton, IL is the cheapest at $99,900, among markets with at least 100 active listings.
- The 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.28% the week of 2026-10-01, 0.94 points above a year ago; Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put it at 6.49% on July 9, 2026.
- Active listings are rising year-over-year in 676 of 950 metros (71.2%), even as housing starts fell to a 1,177,000 annual rate in May 2026, per the Census Bureau.
- The median gross rental yield across 394 guarded metros is 4.42%, ranging from 10.35% in Johnstown, PA to 1.24% in San Juan, PR.
- Real-estate investors bought 19% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier, while their purchase volume fell 6% to the lowest level since 2020, per Redfin.
- The U.S. homeownership rate held at 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, per the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey.
What is the median U.S. home price in 2026?
WealthyBud’s own dataset puts the national median list price at $324,600 across 950 metros, while the National Association of Realtors reports a $440,600 median existing-home sales price for closed June 2026 transactions. The two differ because one tracks active asking prices and the other tracks completed sales.
1. National median list price: $324,600
Across the 950 U.S. metros WealthyBud tracks, the median list price is $324,600 as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
2. NAR’s median existing-home sales price: $440,600
The National Association of Realtors reports a median existing-home sales price of $440,600 for June 2026, up 1.8% from $432,700 a year earlier — the 36th straight month of year-over-year gains, per NAR’s June 2026 Existing-Home Sales report.
3. List prices are essentially flat year-over-year
The median year-over-year change in list price across 950 tracked metros is -0.6%, while NAR’s closed-sales price sets records — asking prices are cooling ahead of recorded sales (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
Which markets are most and least expensive?
Malibu, CA (ZIP 90265) has the highest median list price WealthyBud tracks, at $5.89M, among markets with at least 100 active listings. Canton, IL is the cheapest at $99,900. Just 15.6% of tracked metros top $500,000.
4. Malibu, CA (ZIP 90265) is the most expensive market WealthyBud tracks: $5.89M
Among markets with at least 100 active listings, Malibu, CA (ZIP 90265) carries the highest median list price as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · guarded pool, active ≥ 100).
5. Canton, IL is the least expensive metro: $99,900
Canton, IL carries the lowest median list price among markets with at least 100 active listings as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · guarded pool).
6. 15.6% of metros have a median price above $500,000
148 of the 950 metros WealthyBud tracks post a median list price of $500,000 or more, as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
7. 3.2% of metros top $1 million
Only 30 of 950 tracked metros have a median list price at or above $1 million as of September 2026 — including 11 in California and 5 in Colorado; the other 14 span 9 states (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
| Market | Median list price | Active listings |
|---|---|---|
| Malibu, CA (ZIP 90265) | $5.89M | 321 |
| Nantucket, MA | $5.87M | 145 |
| Newport Beach, CA (ZIP 92660) | $4.48M | 116 |
| Telluride, CO (San Miguel County) | $3.4M | 272 |
| Aspen, CO (Pitkin County) | $3.37M | 451 |
- Canton, IL has a median list price of $99,900, among 117 active listings.
- Macomb, IL has a median list price of $116,250, among 112 active listings.
- Johnstown, PA has a median list price of $119,975, among 245 active listings.
- Danville, IL has a median list price of $127,000, among 150 active listings.
- Pampa, TX has a median list price of $142,000, among 155 active listings.
What are mortgage rates doing?
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.28% during the week ending 2026-10-01, per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and 6.49% on July 9, 2026. WealthyBud’s dataset recorded 6.34% a year earlier, so financing costs are higher than a year ago.
8. 30-year fixed rate: 7.28% (2026-10-01)
WealthyBud’s national dataset carries Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% for the week ending 2026-10-01 (Freddie Mac PMMS, via WealthyBud data).
9. Freddie Mac’s July 9, 2026 reading: 6.49%
The weekly Freddie Mac survey put the 30-year fixed rate at 6.49% on July 9, 2026 — a dated figure, shown for comparison with the 7.28% in the dataset above — per Freddie Mac’s PMMS.
10. Rates are 0.94 points above a year ago
WealthyBud’s own dataset recorded the 30-year fixed rate at 6.34% a year earlier — a stored year-ago snapshot, not Freddie Mac’s current published number — versus 7.28% in the latest weekly reading, so financing costs are higher than a year ago.
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How much inventory is on the market?
The typical U.S. metro WealthyBud tracks has homes sitting on the market for 63 days, and active listings are rising year-over-year in 676 of 950 metros — about seven in ten. Nationally, housing starts fell to a 1,177,000 annual rate in May 2026, per the Census Bureau.
11. Median days on market: 63
Across 950 tracked metros, the median time a home spends actively listed is 63 days as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
12. Active inventory is rising in 71.2% of metros
Active listings are up year-over-year in 676 of 950 tracked metros (71.2%), while 268 (28.2%) show falling inventory — a broad swing toward looser supply (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
13. New housing starts: 1,177,000 (annualized), May 2026
Privately owned housing starts ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,177,000 in May 2026, down 15.4% from April, per the Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction report, released June 16, 2026.
14. Building permits: 1,413,000 (annualized), May 2026
Building permits were authorized at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,413,000 in May 2026, down 0.7% from April, per the same Census Bureau release.
15. U.S. homeownership rate: 65.3%
The U.S. homeownership rate was 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, statistically unchanged from a year earlier, per the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey, released April 28, 2026.
What rental yields do investors see?
The median gross rental yield across 394 metros with a median price of at least $100,000 and 100+ active listings is 4.42%. Johnstown, PA posts the highest at 10.35%, while San Juan, PR is lowest. Investor buying has also cooled nationally.
16. Median gross rental yield: 4.42%
Among 394 guarded metros (median price ≥ $100,000, active ≥ 100), the median gross rental yield — annual rent over price, before expenses — is 4.42% as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · 394 metros).
17. Highest yield: Johnstown, PA at 10.35%
Johnstown, PA posts the highest gross rental yield in the guarded pool, 10.35%, on a median price of $119,975 — the low-price, high-yield end of the market (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
18. Lowest yield: San Juan, PR at 1.24%
San Juan, PR posts the lowest, 1.24%, on a median price of $622,250 — the high-price, low-yield end of the market (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
19. Investor market share: 19% of homes sold in Q1 2026
Real-estate investors purchased 19% of U.S. homes that sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier — a largely unchanged share, per Redfin’s investor purchase report.
20. Investor purchase volume fell 6% to its lowest level since 2020
U.S. investor home purchases fell 6% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026 to their lowest level since 2020, per the same Redfin report — a drop in transaction count, distinct from the flat market share above.
| Metro | Gross yield | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| Johnstown, PA | 10.35% | $119,975 |
| Elmira, NY | 8.58% | $179,450 |
| Decatur, IL | 8.51% | $149,975 |
| Saginaw, MI | 8.12% | $165,000 |
| Altoona, PA | 7.80% | $175,000 |
What this means for buyers and investors
For buyers, affordability is still the binding constraint. The median metro WealthyBud tracks carries a price-to-income ratio of 5.0×, and a 7.28% mortgage rate adds real monthly cost on top of that (WealthyBud data · 933 metros · September 2026).
For sellers, leverage is fading. An average of 19.5% of active listings carry a price reduction, and inventory is rising in about seven in ten tracked metros, so pricing right the first time matters more than a year ago (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
For investors, a 9.1-point spread between the highest- and lowest-yield guarded metros shows national numbers hide wide local variation. WealthyBud’s Investor Score blends momentum, value, yield, supply risk and market heat to narrow that search.
The gap between list and sold prices is worth watching: NAR’s closed-sales median keeps setting records while WealthyBud’s list-price median is essentially flat year-over-year (-0.6%), so the two measures currently point different ways.
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