Home prices rose in most metro areas, but the market remains sluggish, report finds
Home prices rose in 71% of U.S. metro markets during the first quarter of 2026 even as national price growth continued to slow, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.
Sixteen metro areas posted double-digit price gains, the report said. Overall, the median single-family existing-home price rose to $404,300 last quarter, up by just 0.5% from the same period last year.
“We now have a slower market than in previous years due to uncertainty and continuing affordability pressures,” said Susan Wachter, a finance professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Home prices are not keeping up with inflation, Wachter told Straight Arrow.
Mortgage rates remain high
High interest rates and elevated homeownership costs continue to strain the housing market, economists said.
This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.56%, below the high of nearly 7% a year ago, but still higher than earlier this year.
The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home, with a 20% down payment, averaged $1,979 in the first quarter — down $140 from a year ago, Tuesday’s report found.
Home prices vary widely by region
Home pricing trends varied widely by region, the report revealed.
The Northeast saw some of the highest price hikes, with overall home prices in the region rising about 5% annually in just three months. Homes in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York, and Trenton, New Jersey, were up more than 9% year over year. The report noted that housing shortages in the region pushed prices higher.
Home prices also rose in the Midwest, recording nearly 4% in annual price hikes. Prices in Akron, Ohio, climbed by 12%, the highest annual increase in the nation.
Meanwhile, home prices declined in 27% of metro areas nationwide, including many in the South. Wachter attributed these price cuts in large part to overbuilding in that region. Prices also declined in parts of the American West.
“We’re not one market, we’re many markets,” Wachter said. “This is very much a regional story.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
