Homebuyers Press Forward Despite Rate Uncertainty as Prices Fall

The housing market is entering the heart of the spring season with a rare alignment of trends that may favor patient shoppers. Homebuyers appear to be responding.

According to the Realtor.com® economic research team's latest weekly housing data, the market is witnessing a sustained cooling of home prices even as mortgage rates tick slightly higher, complicating the affordability calculus for homebuyers.

Now for 15 straight weeks, median listing prices have posted an outright annual decline. For the week ending April 30, prices fell 2.3% compared to the same week last year, deepening the 1.7% annual decline seen last week.

This marks 27 consecutive weeks where asking prices have either fallen or remained flat compared to last year, even as the selling pace remains roughly comparable to last spring.

"That combination suggests sellers are adjusting prices to attract buyers rather than waiting for the market to come to them, a dynamic that keeps the spring window genuinely competitive for shoppers," says Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith.

While price tags are softening, the cost of borrowing remains a central hurdle. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.30% this week. While this is a modest increase from last week’s 6.23%, it remains significantly lower than the 6.76% seen at this time last year.

“As rates had modestly declined the last few weeks, purchase demand has accelerated,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “It is clear that purchase demand continues to hold up as prospective buyers react to both modestly lower rates and more inventory to choose from.”

This resilience in demand is echoed in the latest weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Although total mortgage applications decreased by 1.6% for the week ending April 24—driven largely by a 4% dip in refinancing as rates nudged upward—the purchase market remains robust. MBA data reveals that purchase applications were 21% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Potential homebuyers certainly appear to be moving forward this spring and taking advantage of the more favorable inventory conditions,” noted MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

The "favorable inventory" is reflected in Realtor.com data showing a 2.7% year-over-year climb in active listings. While this growth has moderated from the 4% range seen earlier this month, the total volume of homes for sale year to date remains 6.8% higher than in 2025.

This buildup of supply is not the result of homes languishing. Instead, homes are spending just one day longer on the market than a year ago, indicating that buyers are steadily absorbing the new supply.

Listing activity did see a technical "pullback" this week, with new listings falling 1.4% year over year. However, the economist Smith says this is a calendar anomaly due primarily to bumpiness from the Easter holiday a year ago.

With that holiday distortion cleared, the underlying data points toward a market where sellers are reengaging at a sustainable pace, according to Smith.

As long as inventory continues to build and prices stay soft, the 2026 spring market may prove to be the most balanced window of opportunity since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the housing market.