If you’re struggling to buy a home, there might be light at the end of the tunnel.
New data on the U.S. housing market has revealed that a fifth of listed homes had price drops in September, according to Realtor.com, the highest rate of the year so far.
There’s also been a surge in inventory with the number of available homes rising 5.4 percent year-over-year.
However, there’s a caveat: mortgage rates have hit the highest level in two years. A 30-year fixed-rate is averaging 7 per cent, and doesn’t appear likely to come down anytime soon after the Federal Reserve raised the interest rate earlier this month.
“September's housing data shows that buyers are gaining leverage, but higher mortgage rates are limiting how much of that opportunity they can use,” said Danielle Hale, a chief economist at Realtor.com.
Western states had the biggest share of price cuts at 22.8 percent while the Northeast saw drops at 15.2 percent.
Salt Lake City, Utah, had the highest share of homes on the market with price drops at 33.6 percent, followed by Denver (32.1 percent) and Portland (31.6 percent).
But buyers still appear hesitant. The number of homes under contract in September 2026 fell by 4.1 percent compared to the same period in 2025.
Still, price reductions and more inventory bring new life to a market that has stagnated since the pandemic.
The average sale price of a home jumped from $383,000 in March 2020 to $502,000 in June 2026, according to federal data, and mortgage rates nearly doubled in the same period.
It led to many homeowners choosing not to sell because they didn’t want to pay higher mortgage rates to buy a different home, typically known as “mortgage lock-in.”
But the new Realtor.com data suggests people may soon get moving.
“More owners are acknowledging that today's buyers need a lower price, but they are still choosing to stay in the market rather than walk away,” said Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com.
"That is a healthier adjustment than a widespread retreat - although the next question is whether deeper or repeated reductions can bring buyers back and get more homes under contract."
