What happened to home prices in Q2 2026?

More buyers were looking for and buying homes even as prices went up in 184 of 230 metro markets during the second quarter of 2026, a report released today by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) said.

The national median price for single-family existing homes was $434,900, up 1.5% from the previous year, the report said.

While home prices rose in three of the four major regions the NAR report looks at, it did see a slight drop in the West.

“Home sales increased despite mortgage rates rising. This testifies to the potential housing demand building up from steady job and income gains,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “It is welcoming to see incomes rising faster than home prices, which has helped boost affordability, but the big short-term challenge to affordability is coming from rising mortgage rates.”

Where did home prices change the most in Q2 2026?

On a region-by-region basis, the U.S. housing market saw these changes in median home prices:

• Prices increased 3.8% in the Northeast to $547,200. 

• Home prices were up 3.6% in the Midwest to $340,800.
• The South saw a 1% increase in home prices to $380,000. 

• The West saw a slight drop of 0.8% in home prices to $637,900. 

“Sales rose in three of the four major regions, with the South leading the way due to faster job growth,” Yun said. “The Northeast was the exception, held back partly by slower job growth and faster-appreciating home prices, which hurt affordability.”

Which metros saw the largest changes in home prices?

The top 10 metro areas with the largest year-over-year increases in median home prices were in the south and Northeast, the NAR report said. The metro areas with the biggest changes were:

• Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (+11.0%)
• Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. (+10.5%)
• Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Miss. (+10.3%)
• Syracuse, N.Y. (+9.6%)
• Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. (+8.0%)
• Lansing-East Lansing, Mich. (+7.8%)
• Canton-Massillon, Ohio (+7.7%)
• Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. (+7.4%)
• York-Hanover, Pa. (+7.4%)
• Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. (+6.8%)

The NAR report also detailed the 10 most expensive metro markets for single-family homes. Of the 10 most expensive metro markets, eight of them for the second quarter of 2026 were in California. Topping the list was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, with an average home price of $2,050,000, which is down 4.2% from last year.

How about housing affordability in Q2 2026?

Median existing single-family home prices have increased from both the same time the previous year, 1.5%, and the first quarter of 2026, 0.5%.

The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $2,199. This was a $219 increase from the previous quarter but down $52 from the same time last year.

Families typically spend 23.8% of their income on mortgage payments, up 21.8% from the previous quarter at the start of 2026 and down 25.5% from a year ago.

First-time homebuyers did see a drop in prices for starter homes compared to the same time the previous year. The monthly mortgage for a typical starter home valued at $369,700 with a 10% down payment in the second quarter of 2026 was $2,158. This monthly mortgage was up $214 from last quarter but down $49 from a year ago.

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