The latest home price and affordability data report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released Aug. 4 shows more than 80% of metro markets (176 out of 221) saw home-price increases in the second quarter of 2026, an increase from 71% in the first quarter, while 5% of metro areas recorded double-digit price gains, unchanged from last quarter.
The data comes as 2026’s housing market remains somewhat flat, with sales tracking flat from last year amid geopolitical disruption and economic uncertainty.
Q2 continued to see rising mortgage rates, but a six-week run of rates hovering in the mid-6% range seemingly provided some relative stability for homebuyers, reflected by an increase in home sales despite the gradual rate uptick during the quarter.
“Home sales increased despite mortgage rates rising,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “This testifies to the potential housing demand building up from steady job and income gains.”
Yun noted that sales rose in three of the four major regions, with the South leading the way due to faster job growth. The Northeast was the exception, held back partly by slower job growth and faster-appreciating home prices, which hurt affordability, he noted.
“It is welcoming to see incomes rising faster than home prices, which has helped boost affordability—but the big short-term challenge to affordability is coming from rising mortgage rates,” Yun said in a statement.
Breaking down the data
Compared to one year ago, the national median single-family existing-home price grew 1.5% to $434,900. In the first quarter, the year-over-year national median price increased 0.5%.
Among the major U.S. regions, the Northeast posted the largest share of year-over-year single-family home price increases (+3.8%). Prices also climbed 3.6% in the Midwest, 1.0% in the South and decreased 0.8% in the West.
The top 10 metro areas with the largest year-over-year median price increases, which can be influenced by the types of homes sold during the quarter, all recorded gains of at least 6.8%. Those include Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (+11.0%); Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Floirda (+10.5%); Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi (+10.3%); Syracuse, New York (+9.6%); Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut (+8.0%); Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan (+7.8%); Canton-Massillon, Ohio (+7.7%); Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Masschusetts (+7.4%); York-Hanover, Pennsylvania. (+7.4%); and Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin (+6.8%).
Eight of the top 10 most expensive markets in the U.S. were in California. Overall, those markets are San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California ($2,050,000; -4.2%); San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California ($1,500,000; +5.2%); Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California ($1,485,000; +3.7%); Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($1,183,000; +3.0%); San Diego-Carlsbad, California ($1,075,000; +4.9%); Salinas, California ($982,600; +0.4%); Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California ($961,800; +0.4%); San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California ($954,400; +2.8%); Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut ($885,100; +4.7%); and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California ($879,900; 0.0%).
One-fifth of markets (20%; 44 of 221) experienced home-price declines in the second quarter, down from 27% in the first quarter and down 24% overall from a year ago.
Housing affordability changed little in the second quarter amid mortgage rates lingering in the mid-6% range. The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $2,199, an increase of $219 from the first quarter but down $52 from one year ago. Families typically spent 23.8% of their income on mortgage payments, up from 21.8% in the first quarter but down from 25.5% one year ago.
Lack of inventory and affordability continued to impact first-time buyers during the second quarter. For a typical starter home valued at $369,700 with a 10% down payment loan, the monthly mortgage payment was $2,158, an increase of $214 from last quarter. However, that was a decrease of $49 from one year ago. First-time buyers typically spent 35.9% of their family income on mortgage payments, up from 32.9% in the prior quarter and down 38.4% from a year ago.
