The August Prices Report by Homes.com reveals that in August, the median home price increased 2.4% over the last year, maintaining the same rate as 2024.
Researchers estimate that the national median price for a home in the U.S. is $389,000, about $9,000 more than the previous year but less than June’s peak of $395,000.
According to the report, the median home price rose 3.5% in the past eight months, but during the same period in 2024, the median price grew by 7%—about double the current rate.
Due to plateauing prices and growth, researchers state that “the housing market remains lackluster, as conditions continue to shift toward a buyer’s market.” Softening home-buying demand can be explained by high levels of housing inventory, which reached pre-pandemic levels in July.
Although the 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 6.5% this past week—the lowest rate in the past 11 months—rates are still considered too elevated to encourage homebuyers in today’s market.
“Looking ahead, the decline in mortgage rates, coupled with softening price pressures, should improve affordability and potentially stimulate demand, assuming the labor market does not weaken substantially,” the report states.
Changes in the median home price vary by region, with Midwestern cities seeing the greatest price increases over the past year. The top five metropolitans with the highest year-over-year increases in August are:
- Detroit, Michigan (9.1%)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (8.6%)
- Cleveland, Ohio (8.3%)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (8%)
- Saint Louis, Missouri (7.4%)
Even though Midwestern cities saw the greatest percentage change in their median home price, Milwaukee is closest to (and below) the national home price average at only $380,000. The other top five are at or below $300,000.
“After years of sharply higher prices, conditions have changed,” said Homes.com National Director of Residential Analytics Erika Ludvigsen, in an emailed statement. “A growing shortage of potential buyers who can afford to buy and uncertainty about the outlook for jobs and mortgage rates are putting pressure on sellers to pull back on prices. This has been especially true in some oversupplied markets in the Sun Belt.”
Despite experiencing low increases or even decreases in home price change in the past year, California continues to dominate with the highest home prices in the U.S.:
- San Jose, California ($1,521,000)
- San Francisco, California ($1,464,000)
- San Diego, California ($915,000)
- Los Angeles, California ($909,000)
- Seattle, Washington ($750,000)
San Diego had the highest percent change out of the cities listed at 3.4%, followed by Los Angeles at 0.9%. Seattle had no change in price over the past year, but San Jose and San Francisco both decreased slightly in price at 1.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
Overall, about 58% of the cities researched had market growth less than 5% over the past year. About 23% of the cities experienced growth over 5%, while only 20% had no growth or decreased in home price.
However, certain states fared better than others. Texas, Florida, Hawaii and Montana had zero growth (or experienced negative growth), while Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut had growth over 5%. All other states had growth less than 5%.
“The recent downward trend in mortgage rates could help chase out more potential buyers and help bring more balance to the market, so long as the economy and income growth continue to hold up,” Ludvigsen said.
Changes in price varied for each type of housing as well. Detached homes have a median home price of $397,000, and a year-over-year change of 2.1%. The median price for attached homes is $359,900, but had no change over the past year. Condos decreased in price, with a median price of $340,000—and a 1.2% decrease over the past year.
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