August Real Estate Market Trends: Home Prices Rise, Housing Shortage Eases
In August 2026, home prices increased in 80% of U.S. metro markets during the second quarter, up from 71% previously, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The median price for a single-family home rose by 1.5% year-over-year to $434,900. While overall existing-home sales declined slightly in July due to affordability issues and a slowdown at lower price points, homes priced over $750,000 saw double-digit growth compared to the previous year. Zillow reported that the U.S. housing shortage grew by only 43,000 units in 2024—its smallest increase in years—to reach a total of 4.7 million homes. Affordability also stabilized during this period, with about one-third of for-sale listings on Zillow being affordable to median-income households. New home sales exceeded expectations in June at 628,000 units, slightly above the forecasted 610,000. However, this was still a decline from the previous year's rate.
Topics: affordability home_prices housing_market tax_friendly_states