Pending Home Sales Jump 10% From a Year Ago to Highest Level Since 2022

Key Terms

mortgage-purchase applications financial

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 adjusted technical

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.

median home-sale price technical

Median home-sale price is the middle price of all homes sold in a given area and time period — half of the homes sold for more and half for less. Investors use it as a quick, stable snapshot of housing-market strength and buyer demand (think of it as the score of the player in the middle of a game), which helps gauge consumer wealth, mortgage risk, construction activity and local tax revenue trends.

months of supply technical

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 ratio technical

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.

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Redfin reports sale prices are rising as homebuying demand strengthens

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- U.S. pending homes sales jumped 9.6% year over year to their highest level since September 2022, on a seasonally adjusted basis. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.

Pending sales are rising in every major U.S. metro except three (Houston, Detroit and Seattle). Mortgage-purchase applications are up 4% week over week.

Strengthening demand is pushing up prices. The median home-sale price rose 2.2% year over year during the four weeks ending May 10, the second-biggest increase in the last seven months.

More homebuyers are entering the market partly because the job market is improving, making some Americans feel more secure about making a major purchase. Mortgage rates declined for three straight weeks in April, another factor making house hunters more confident—though the daily average mortgage rose to 6.57% on Wednesday, near the highest level since August. Additionally, spring is typically the busiest season for the housing market; that seasonality may be kicking in late this year.

Sellers are not quite as keen as buyers. New listings fell 1.6% year over year, the third straight week of declines. Some would-be sellers are waiting to see whether strengthening demand pushes home prices even higher later this year, and some are still reluctant to give up ultra-low mortgage rates. And while the labor market is firming up, some homeowners are still reluctant to list their home when the economy feels uncertain due to the ongoing Iran war and rising oil prices.

The housing market has been strongly favoring buyers for at least the last year, but it may be past peak buyer’s market. The gap between sellers and buyers has shrunk and may shrink more in the coming months if homebuying demand continues to accelerate.

“House hunters should take note: As more buyers enter the market, they may lose some negotiating power,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research. “Even though mortgage rates have ticked up in recent weeks, serious buyers may consider moving forward sooner rather than later. More buyers in the market equals more competition, which could create bidding wars, push prices up and make it harder to secure that perfect home.”

For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.

Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
	Value (if applicable)	Recent change	Year-over-year change	Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.57% (May 13)	Near highest level since August	Down from 6.91%	Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.37% (week ending May 7)	Up from 6.23% two weeks earlier	Down from 6.76%	Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)		Up 4% from a week earlier (as of week ending May 8)	Up 7%	Mortgage Bankers Association
Google searches of “homes for sale”		Highest level in 9 months (as of May 9)	Up more than 20%	Google Trends
Touring activity		Up 27% from the start of the year (as of May 9)	At this time last year, it was up 40% from the start of 2025	ShowingTime

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending May 10, 2026 Redfin’s national metrics include data from 900+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2021. Subject to revision.
	Four weeks ending May 10, 2026	Year-over-year change	Notes
Median sale price	$397,740	2.2%
Median asking price (seasonally adjusted)	$404,727	1.4%
Median monthly mortgage payment (seasonally adjusted)	$2,609 at a 6.37% mortgage rate	-1.7%
Pending sales (seasonally adjusted)	346,104	9.6%
New listings (seasonally adjusted)	370,261	-1.6%
Active listings (seasonally adjusted)	1,486,721	1.2%
Months of supply	3.5	-0.1 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	39.7%	Essentially unchanged
Median days on market	42	+3 days
Share of home listings with price drops	18.7%	Down from 19%
Share of homes sold above list price	26.6%	Down from 28%
Average sale-to-list price ratio	98.8%	Down from 99%

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending May 10, 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	Kansas City, MO (9%) San Francisco (7.9%) Cincinnati (5.4%) Nassau County, NY (5.2%) Chicago (5.1%)	San Jose, CA (-4.1%) Seattle (-3.3%) Sacramento, CA (-2.8%) Austin, TX (-2.2%) Miami (-2%)
Pending sales	Pittsburgh (17.3%) Minneapolis (17.3%) Newark, NJ (16.7%) Miami (16.3%) New Brunswick, NJ (15.9%)	Houston (-7.8%) Detroit (-4%) Seattle (-3.6%)	Declined in just 3 metros, the fewest since Dec. 2024
New listings	Cincinnati (11.3%) West Palm Beach, FL (9.8%) Columbus, OH (8.3%) Milwaukee (7.7%) Newark, NJ (7.4%)	Denver (-15.9%) Dallas (-14.6%) Fort Worth, TX (-13.1%) Miami (-12.9%) Jacksonville, FL (-12.8%)

To view the full report, including charts, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-pending-home-sales-jump

About Redfin

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.

You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at https://www.redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit https://www.rocketcompanies.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260514552482/en/

Contact Redfin Journalist Services:
Tana Kelley
press@redfin.com

Source: Redfin