Housing Market Turns ‘Ripe for Buyers’—Here’s Why

The housing market is pointing to one that's "ripe for buyers," according to the latest Realtor.com® Weekly Housing Trends Report.

Data shows that the housing market is shifting to a buyer-friendly direction with new and active inventory up and home prices down.

Homes continue to spend more time on the market, but it appears it's not enough to persuade home shoppers to make the move.

Freddie Mac's latest mortgage interest rate announcement should signal a positive sign for homebuyers. The average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan fell to 5.98% for the week ending Feb. 26. That's the lowest rate since September 2022. If you're wondering whether that's a good number, rates averaged 6.76% during the same period in 2025.

That may be the push buyers need as we head into the spring homebuying season.

Home inventory trends

The number of homes for sale is greater than the 2025 levels, which is giving shoppers more options. Active inventory rose 7.1% year over year, but the "pace" of inventory recovery has slowed. During the same period last year, inventory was increasing closer to 30% year over year.

"These single-digit growth rates are a welcome improvement, but seem a bit disappointing in the context of the rapid inventory recovery of the past two years from historic lows," says Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com.

The past two weeks have seen a switch of the previous trend in 2026 when it comes to new listings—moving into positive year-over-year territory.

Realtor.com economists explain that as we approach the spring homebuying season, this momentum is important as the housing market continues to recover from the post-pandemic inventory crunch.

New homes being constructed fell by 7.9% annually in 2025, so new listings of existing homes will have to make up for the lack of inventory supplying the housing market.

Meanwhile, the share of new listings is up 3.6% year over year. Berner points out that the past two weeks have seen a reversal of the previous trend in 2026 for new listings, finally flipping into positive year-over-year territory.

New listings are a measure of people putting their homes up for sale, and it appears this is gaining momentum as the market is still recovering from the post-pandemic inventory crunch. New-home completions fell by 7.9% annually in 2025, so new listings of existing homes will have to pick up the slack of supplying the housing market.

Another positive sign is that the median home spent 68 days on the market for the week ending Feb. 21—this falls below 70 days for the first time since November, but it's still five days longer than the same time last year.

The report points out that the slowdown is slightly less pronounced this time than it has been this year, due to mortgage rates hovering near the 6% range. This is providing some relief for buyers.

Overall, the median list price for homes fell 2.4% year over year—marking the 18th straight week of flat or negative price growth year over year.

Berner says it's also the fifth consecutive week in which prices are 2% or more below last year's levels.

"The price correction we have been anticipating since the pace of sales slowed down and inventory started to recover has finally arrived," Berner says. "This is also evidenced by the year-over-year price-per-square-foot metric, which fell to -2.4%, the lowest on record. The per-square-foot figure suggests an underlying drop in home prices is taking place, not just a mix of smaller homes coming on the market."