Monthly Payments Tick Up for First Time in 6 Months as Mortgage Rates, Home Prices Jump
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30-year fixed mortgage ratefinancial
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is the interest rate charged on a home loan that is paid back over 30 years with consistent monthly payments. Because the rate stays the same throughout the loan period, it provides stability and predictability for homeowners. This rate influences borrowing costs and can impact the overall housing market and consumer spending.
mortgage-purchase applicationsfinancial
Mortgage-purchase applications are requests submitted by consumers to lenders for home loans used to buy properties, as opposed to loans for refinancing existing mortgages. Investors watch the number and trend of these applications because they act like a real-time thermometer of housing demand and consumer confidence—rising applications suggest stronger home sales, construction activity, and related spending, while falling applications can signal cooling in the housing market and pressure on companies tied to mortgages and homebuilding.
seasonally adjustedtechnical
Seasonally adjusted means that figures have been modified to remove the effects of regular and predictable changes that happen at specific times of the year, such as holidays or weather patterns. This adjustment helps reveal the true underlying trend by making comparisons across different periods more accurate. For investors, it provides a clearer picture of whether economic activity is genuinely improving or declining, without the noise of seasonal fluctuations.
months of supplyfinancial
Months of supply measures how long it would take to sell all available homes at the current sales rate. It is calculated by dividing the total number of homes for sale by the number of homes sold each month. A lower number suggests a faster market with high demand, while a higher number indicates a slower market with more choices for buyers.
sale-to-list price ratiofinancial
The sale-to-list price ratio measures how much of a property's asking price is actually paid by buyers, expressed as a percentage. For example, if a home is listed at $300,000 and sells for $285,000, the ratio is 95%. This figure helps investors gauge the strength of the market: a higher ratio suggests buyers are willing to pay close to asking prices, indicating high demand.
Redfin reports the Iran war is a major factor pushing up mortgage rates. Some would-be buyers are backing off amid high costs and uncertainty stemming from the war.
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The median U.S. monthly mortgage payment is $2,742, up 0.4% year over year—a small increase, but the first in nearly six months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.
Housing payments are climbing because the Iran war and rising oil prices have pushed the weekly average mortgage rate up to a six-month high of 6.38%. Daily average mortgage rates rose as high as 6.64% at the end of last week. Home-sale prices are a factor, too; the median home-sale price rose 2.1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending March 29—the biggest uptick in a year.
High costs, along with economic uncertainty from the Iran war, have sidelined some would-be homebuyers. Pending home sales declined 1.2% year over year, and mortgage-purchase applications fell 3% week over week. The typical home spends 53 days on the market before going under contract, five days longer than last year.
On the selling side, new listings are ticking up; they rose 1.7% year over year. Overall, there are 630,000 more home sellers than buyers in the market—the biggest gap in records dating back to 2013. Redfin agents say that with more sellers than buyers in most metro areas, it’s more important than ever for sellers to prepare their home to make a strong first impression.
“My advice for sellers is to remember you’re selling the dream of homeownership,” said Hazel Shakur, a Redfin Premier agent in the Washington, D.C. area. “When house hunters walk through the door, it should look good, smell good and give the impression that every room is orderly. Buyers should be able to visualize what life is going to be like living in the home. And it goes beyond cosmetics: Some buyers are walking away during the inspection period if they uncover an issue, so sellers should make sure they have taken care of basic maintenance and repairs before listing.”
For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Down 3% from a week earlier (as of week ending March 27)
Up 1%
Mortgage Bankers Association
Google searches of “homes for sale”
Up 20% from a month earlier (as of March 30)
Up 26%
Google Trends
Touring activity
Up 25% from the start of the year (as of March 30)
At this time last year, it was up 36% from the start of 2025
ShowingTime
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index was removed this week to ensure data accuracy.
Key housing-market data
U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending March 29, 2026
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision.
Four weeks ending March 29, 2026
Year-over-year change
Notes
Median sale price
$391,475
2.1%
Biggest increase in a year
Median asking price
$424,975
2.5%
Median monthly mortgage payment
$2,611 at a 6% mortgage rate
0.3%
First increase since October 2025
Pending sales
86,642
-1.2%
Biggest decline in over a month
New listings
102,768
1.7%
Active listings
1,068,411
-1.7%
Biggest decline since 2023
Months of supply
4.5
+0.2 pts.
4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions
Share of homes off market in two weeks
37.4%
Essentially unchanged
Median days on market
53
+5 days
Share of homes sold above list price
23.2%
Down from 25%
Average sale-to-list price ratio
98.4%
Down from 98.5%
Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending March 29, 2026
Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.
Metros with biggest year-over-year increases
Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases
Notes
Median sale price
San Francisco (12.6%)
Detroit (10.1%)
Cincinnati (8.7%)
Milwaukee (8.7%)
Baltimore (6.9%)
Oakland, CA (-4.1%)
Dallas (-3.4%)
Austin, TX (-2%)
West Palm Beach, FL (-1.8%)
Houston (-1.8%)
Declined in 12 metros
Pending sales
San Francisco (25%)
West Palm Beach, FL (22.8%)
Milwaukee, WI (12.4%)
Austin, TX (10%)
Miami (8.5%)
New Brunswick, NJ (-15.8%)
Providence, RI (-15.6%)
New York (-15.1%)
Houston (-14.4%)
Nassau County, NY (-13.5%)
New listings
Milwaukee, WI (15.9%)
Philadelphia (9.7%)
Boston (8.5%)
Washington, D.C. (7.7%)
San Francisco (7.6%)
Tampa, FL (-15.7%)
Providence, RI (-14.1%)
Miami (-11.2%)
Jacksonville, FL (-10%)
Riverside, CA (-8.2%)
Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent.
