Realtor.com: September price cuts hit 20.8% of listings as pending sales fall 4.1%
Realtor.com reported that price cuts reached 20.8% of U.S. listings in September as pending sales fell 4.1% and inventory moved closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Sellers cut asking prices on a larger share of U.S. listings in September while fewer homes moved under contract, as higher mortgage rates constrained buyers even as inventory edged closer to pre-pandemic norms, according to Realtor.com’s September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends Report released Sept. 30.
The share of active listings with a price reduction rose to 20.8%, up 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier and the highest September reading since 2018. Active inventory increased 5.4% year over year to 1,161,615 homes, narrowing the gap versus typical 2019 levels to 9.1%—the first time that shortfall has fallen below 10% in the current recovery, the company said in a PR Newswire release.
Homes under contract fell 4.1% from a year ago, a second consecutive monthly decline and the steepest annual drop since March 2025. The national median list price was $419,250, down 1.2% from August and 1.4% year over year—the 11th straight month of annual list-price declines. Median days on market stood at 61, one day longer than in August but one day fewer than a year earlier. Price per square foot declined 1.7% year over year.
“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, chief economist at Realtor.com. Inventory is improving and more sellers are adjusting prices, she said, yet the pending-sales decline shows affordability remains a central constraint as the fall season begins.
New listings slipped 0.7% year over year to under 395,000 (394,830), even as active stock rose at the fastest annual pace in six months. The Northeast and Midwest led inventory gains (+11.6% and +11.3%), with the West up 6.2% and the South up 2.6%. Forty-three of the 50 largest metros had more homes for sale than a year earlier.
Senior economist Jake Krimmel emphasized that the inventory improvement is arriving as demand cools in response to higher borrowing costs, not because a new wave of sellers is rushing to list. About 5.6% of homes on the market were delisted in September, roughly in line with a year ago, suggesting sellers are adjusting via price cuts rather than a broad retreat.
All four Census regions posted a higher price-cut share than a year ago for the first time in 2026. Cuts were most common in the West (22.8% of listings), followed by the South (21.6%), Midwest (20.7%), and Northeast (15.2%). Among the 50 largest metros, Salt Lake City led at 33.6%, followed by Denver (32.1%) and Portland, Ore. (31.6%). Price reductions were least common in New York (10.3%), Hartford, Conn. (12.6%), and Buffalo, N.Y. (12.9%). Thirty-six of the top-50 metros had a higher price-cut share than a year ago, up from 27 in August.
Regional list-price trends diverged. Median list prices fell year over year in the Northeast (−3.8%), South (−2.4%), and West (−0.8%), while the Midwest was flat. On a price-per-square-foot basis, 37 of the 50 largest metros posted annual declines, led by Austin (−8.4%), Tampa (−6.0%), and San Francisco (−4.3%).
Realtor.com economists said the coming weeks will test whether deeper or repeated price cuts can revive contracts, or whether sellers begin delisting at a higher rate if elevated mortgage rates persist. The report’s Best Time to Buy window is framed as Sept. 27–Oct. 3 for well-prepared buyers who can navigate higher financing costs—marketing context from the company, not a forecast of returns.
The metrics cover active inventory of existing single-family homes and condos/townhomes listed on Realtor.com; new construction is excluded unless listed via an MLS that feeds the site. Pending stock measures homes under contract regardless of when they entered that status.
This article summarizes Realtor.com’s economics release. It is not personalized real-estate or mortgage advice.
