Buyers And Sellers Cautiously Return to the Market as Mortgage Rates Fall

Temperatures may be dropping, but the fall housing market is heating up, with both buyers and sellers making a cautious comeback driven by easing mortgage rates.

Following a sluggish summer and lackluster early fall, buyer activity looks to be finally picking up, with homes now spending just four days longer on the market than a year ago—down from eight days seen in recent weeks, according to the latest weekly housing market trends report from Realtor.com®.

Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu says this trend indicates that affordability has started to improve, fueled by mortgage interest rates dipping below 6.3%. 

On Thursday, the average rate on 30-year fixed home loans dropped to 6.19%—the lowest level in over a year.

At the same time, housing data analyzed by Realtor.com show that new listings were on the rise for the week ending on Oct. 18—a sign that more homeowners are coming off the sidelines and putting their properties up for sale—especially those looking to relocate by the end of the year.

Looking to the future, the Federal Reserve is all but certain to reduce its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point next week, with another cut possible in December.

But the central bank’s policy decisions will heavily depend on Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, delayed for more than a week because of the ongoing government shutdown. 

Xu says the new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will serve as a critical gauge, potentially carrying major implications for future mortgage rate trends, particularly given the recent absence of key economic indicators like unemployment numbers. 

Home sales pace picks up

While for-sale homes are still lingering on the market longer now than they did a year ago, the wait time narrowed to just four days last year, down from six days the week prior.

The median time on market held steady at 62 days—roughly as long as it took to sell the typical home before the pandemic.

"As homes continue to sit longer in the markets, more sellers are cutting their asking prices in hopes of closing a deal before the end of the year," says Xu.

Meanwhile, the median list price ticked up 0.4% year over year. However, adjusting for home size, price per square foot fell 0.6% compared to the same period in 2024, continuing a seven-week downward trend.

"Price per square foot grew steadily for almost two years, but the weak sales activity has finally caught up and shaken underlying home values despite stable prices," according to Xu.

New listings edge up as sellers return

Last week saw new listings—a measure of sellers putting homes up on the market—increase 4.7% from a year ago, marking a faster pace than in recent weeks.

This upswing coincides with 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates dropping below 6.3%, offering homeowners hope for stronger buyer demand.

The overall number of for-sale homes climbed 15.1% compared to the same week last year, marking the 102nd consecutive week of annual gains in inventory totaling over 1.1 million properties nationwide.