Statistics · 2026 · Real Estate
U.S. Housing Market Statistics (2026)
The median list price across WealthyBud’s 949 tracked U.S. metros is $334,450 as of June 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 6.43%, and active listings are rising year-over-year in nearly two-thirds of tracked metros.
Key takeaways
- The median list price across WealthyBud’s 949 tracked metros is $334,450, while NAR reports a $440,600 median for closed home sales in June 2026.
- Malibu, CA is the priciest metro WealthyBud tracks at $5.7M; Pampa, TX is the cheapest at $87,500, among metros with at least 100 active listings.
- The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.43% the week of 2026-07-02 and has since ticked up to 6.49% by July 9, 2026, per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
- Active listings are rising year-over-year in 619 of 949 metros (65.2%), 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 4.29%, ranging from 12.28% in Johnstown, PA to 1.18% 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 $334,450 across 949 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: $334,450
Across the 949 U.S. metros WealthyBud tracks, the median list price is $334,450 as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · 949 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 949 tracked metros is -0.6%, even as NAR’s closed-sales price sets records — asking prices are cooling ahead of recorded sales (WealthyBud data · 949 metros).
Which metros are most and least expensive?
Malibu, CA has the highest median list price WealthyBud tracks, at $5.7M, among metros with at least 100 active listings. Pampa, TX is the cheapest at $87,500. Just 16.2% of tracked metros top $500,000.
4. Malibu, CA is the most expensive metro WealthyBud tracks: $5.7M
Among metros with at least 100 active listings, Malibu, CA carries the highest median list price as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · guarded pool, active ≥ 100).
5. Pampa, TX is the least expensive: $87,500
Pampa, TX carries the lowest median list price among metros with at least 100 active listings as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · guarded pool).
6. 16.2% of metros have a median price above $500,000
154 of the 949 metros WealthyBud tracks post a median list price of $500,000 or more, as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · 949 metros).
7. 3.2% of metros top $1 million
Only 30 of 949 tracked metros have a median list price at or above $1 million as of June 2026 — mostly coastal California and Colorado mountain towns (WealthyBud data · 949 metros).
| Metro | Median list price | Active listings |
|---|---|---|
| Malibu, CA | $5.7M | 318 |
| Nantucket, MA | $4.92M | 141 |
| Newport Beach, CA | $4.53M | 130 |
| Telluride, CO | $3.33M | 206 |
| Aspen, CO | $3.11M | 408 |
- Pampa, TX has a median list price of $87,500, among 109 active listings.
- Canton, IL has a median list price of $94,488, among 109 active listings.
- Johnstown, PA has a median list price of $101,175, among 190 active listings.
- Danville, IL has a median list price of $107,625, among 126 active listings.
- Macomb, IL has a median list price of $117,000, among 103 active listings.
What are mortgage rates doing?
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.43% during the week ending 2026-07-02, per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, ticking up to 6.49% by July 9, 2026. WealthyBud’s dataset recorded 6.67% a year earlier, so financing costs are modestly lower than a year ago.
8. 30-year fixed rate: 6.43% (2026-07-02)
WealthyBud’s national dataset carries Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed rate at 6.43% for the week ending 2026-07-02 (Freddie Mac PMMS, via WealthyBud data).
9. Freddie Mac’s newest reading: 6.49% (July 9, 2026)
The most recent weekly Freddie Mac survey puts the 30-year fixed rate at 6.49% as of July 9, 2026, per Freddie Mac’s PMMS.
10. Rates are down about a quarter-point from a year ago
WealthyBud’s own dataset recorded the 30-year fixed rate at 6.67% a year earlier — a stored year-ago snapshot, not Freddie Mac’s current published number — versus 6.43%-6.49% now, a modest improvement in financing costs.
See every metro in this article painted on one map
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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 55 days, and active listings are rising year-over-year in 619 of 949 metros — about two in three. Nationally, new construction is running below its year-ago pace, per the Census Bureau.
11. Median days on market: 55
Across 949 tracked metros, the median time a home spends actively listed is 55 days as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · 949 metros).
12. Active inventory is rising in 65.2% of metros
Active listings are up year-over-year in 619 of 949 tracked metros (65.2%), while 327 (34.5%) show falling inventory — a broad swing toward looser supply (WealthyBud data · 949 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 4.29%. Johnstown, PA posts the highest at 12.28%, while San Juan, PR is lowest. Investor buying has also cooled nationally.
16. Median gross rental yield: 4.29%
Among 394 guarded metros (median price ≥ $100,000, active ≥ 100), the median gross rental yield — annual rent over price, before expenses — is 4.29% as of June 2026 (WealthyBud data · 394 metros).
17. Highest yield: Johnstown, PA at 12.28%
Johnstown, PA posts the highest gross rental yield in the guarded pool, 12.28%, on a median price of $101,175 — the low-price, high-yield Rust Belt profile (WealthyBud data · June 2026).
18. Lowest yield: San Juan, PR at 1.18%
San Juan, PR posts the lowest, 1.18%, on a median price of $650,000 — the high-price, low-yield vacation-market profile (WealthyBud data · June 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 | 12.28% | $101,175 |
| Elmira, NY | 9.41% | $163,675 |
| Saginaw, MI | 9.24% | $145,000 |
| Decatur, IL | 8.95% | $142,450 |
| Altoona, PA | 8.04% | $169,950 |
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 5.1×, and a 6.43% mortgage rate adds real monthly cost on top of that (WealthyBud data · 932 metros · June 2026).
For sellers, leverage is fading. An average of 17.5% of active listings carry a price reduction, and inventory is rising in nearly two-thirds of tracked metros, so pricing right the first time matters more than a year ago (WealthyBud data · 949 metros).
For investors, an 11.1-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 roughly flat year-over-year, a pattern that rewards patient, data-driven buyers.