More homes are for sale than in a decade. Home prices still hit a record.

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Home sales fell 2% in August to the slowest pace since June 2025 despite the highest inventory in over a decade. 1.62 million homes on the market and the median price still hit a record at $429,100, up for the 38th straight month. The only price range where sales grew was above $1 million. Under $250,000, sales fell 10%. Investors dropped from 21% of sales to 15%. Average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.67%.

My Take
I hear from people every week who are trying to buy their first home and can’t make the numbers work. This report explains why. There are more homes for sale than there have been in ten years, and it doesn’t help. Prices went up anyway. They’ve gone up 38 months in a row now. The only homes that sold more than last year were above a million dollars. Under $250,000, where most first-time buyers are looking, sales dropped 10%.

A $429,000 home at 6.67% costs you over $2,700 a month before taxes and insurance. Wages grew 3.1% in August. That’s good, but it’s not “I can afford a $2,700 mortgage payment” good. I think the hardest part of this for younger buyers is that they did everything right. They saved, they waited for more supply to come on the market, the supply came, and prices still went up.
Either rates have to come down or prices do. The Fed is expected to hike next week, so rates aren’t helping anytime soon. And sellers have no reason to lower prices when the median is still at a record. So the squeeze on first-time buyers just continues.

Hedgie

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