Q2 Home Prices Tick Up Despite Rising Mortgage Rates - The MortgagePoint

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• August 4, 2026

During Q2 of 2026, home prices increased in 80% of metropolitan markets, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in their most recent quarterly report. This marks an increase from an estimated 71% in Q1. Additionally, five percent of metro areas experienced double-digit price increases, remaining consistent with the previous quarter. Further, the national median price for single-family existing homes rose by 1.5% year-over-year (YoY), reaching $434,900, compared to a 0.5% annual increase in the first quarter.

Median existing single-family home price by region (YoY change):

• Northeast: $547,200 (+3.8%)
• Midwest: $340,800 (+3.6%)
• South: $380,000 (+1.0%)
• West: $637,900 (-0.8%)

“Home sales increased despite mortgage rates rising. This testifies to the potential housing demand building up from steady job and income gains,” said Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR. “Sales rose in three of the four major regions, with the South leading the way due to faster job growth. The Northeast was the exception, held back partly by slower job growth and faster-appreciating home prices, which hurt affordability.”

Regional & Metro Trends Continue to Vary

Overall, housing affordability decreased in 20% of markets that saw falling home prices, a reduction from 27% in the previous quarter and down from 24% a year ago. The monthly mortgage payment for a typical existing single-family home, assuming a 20% down payment, was $2,199, reflecting an increase of approximately $219 from the last quarter and a decrease of $52 compared to the previous year. The average percentage of income that typical families allocated to mortgage payments was 23.8%, rising from 21.8% in the last quarter but decreasing from 25.5% a year earlier.

Top 10 Large Markets with the Biggest YoY Median Price Increases:

1. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (+11.0%)
2. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL (+10.5%)
3. Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS (+10.3%)
4. Syracuse, NY (+9.6%)
5. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT (+8.0%)
6. Lansing-East Lansing, MI (+7.8%)
7. Canton-Massillon, Ohio (+7.7%)
8. Providence-Warwick, R.I.-MA (+7.4%)
9. York-Hanover, PA (+7.4%)
10. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (+6.8%)

“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,” Yun said.

Top 10 Most Expensive Markets (median sales price, with YoY price change):

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($2,050,000; -4.2%)
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($1,500,000; +5.2%)
3. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA ($1,485,000; +3.7%)
4. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($1,183,000; +3.0%)
5. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA ($1,075,000; +4.9%)
6. Salinas, CA ($982,600; +0.4%)
7. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($961,800; +0.4%)
8. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA ($954,400; +2.8%)
9. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($885,100; +4.7%)
10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA ($879,900; 0.0%)

Note: The next quarterly Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability and Housing Affordability Index release will be Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

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