04/07/2026
What the market is saying right now
Existing-home sales rose 1.7% month over month in February to a 4.09 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Inventory also improved, rising to 1.29 million units, or a 3.8-month supply. The median existing-home price was $398,000, up just 0.3% year over year, while NAR’s Housing Affordability Index improved to 117.6, its highest reading since March 2022.
That is the clearest signal in the market right now:
Conditions are improving, but not loosening dramatically.
Inventory is better than it was. Affordability is better than it was. But this is still not an easy market in the way many buyers hoped it would become.
Demand is there, but it is still selective
Pending home sales — which are a forward-looking indicator — rose 1.8% in February from the prior month, though they were still down 0.8% year over year nationally. The South and West posted year-over-year gains, while the Northeast and Midwest remained weaker.
That fits what many agents are already feeling on the ground:
buyers are active, but more cautious
good listings still move
overpriced or poorly positioned listings feel the slowdown quickly