Home Prices Falling? Asking Prices Dip as Nashville Leads U.S. in New Listings

Franklin, Tenn. — October 18, 2026

Home prices are not falling across the board, but asking prices are: the median U.S. asking price slipped 0.3% from a year earlier in the four weeks ending Oct. 11, the first annual decline since March, according to a report released Oct. 15 by Redfin, the real estate brokerage owned by Rocket Companies.

The median sale price, which reflects deals that actually closed, still rose 0.5% year over year to $391,116, the slowest growth since March, according to the report. The seasonally adjusted median asking price stood at $396,881.

Are home prices falling nationally?

The latest figures point to slowing rather than falling sale prices, with sellers increasingly adjusting. A record 22% of homes listed for sale had a price cut during the period, up from 20.9% a year earlier and the highest share in Redfin's records, which date to 2021. The trend tracks the record share of seasonal price cuts Iron Hill Brief reported earlier this fall.

Demand stayed near record lows. Pending sales rose 1.5% from the prior week but were down 12.7% from a year earlier, and they declined year over year in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metro areas, the first time in three years that every metro Redfin analyzed posted a drop, according to the report. Months of supply rose to 4.2 from 3.8 a year earlier, and the median home spent 49 days on the market.

Redfin attributed the cooling in part to borrowing costs. The typical buyer's seasonally adjusted monthly payment reached $2,777, up 8.8% from a year earlier and the highest in Redfin's records except for the prior week, reflecting a weekly average mortgage rate of 7.4%, according to the report.

Sale prices diverged sharply by market. Among the 50 largest metros, the median sale price rose most in San Francisco, at 18.1%, and Detroit, at 9.4%, and fell most in Seattle, at 6.3%, and San Jose, California, at 4.8%.

Nashville leads the nation in new listings

Nashville posted the largest year-over-year increase in new listings among the 50 metros, at 22.1%, ahead of San Jose at 20.3% and Boston at 12.4%, according to Redfin. Nationally, new listings fell 1.3% from a year earlier, while active listings rose 2%.

Monthly Realtracs data paint a related picture of a market with more homes available and fewer buyers moving quickly. Across 10 Middle Tennessee counties, active inventory rose 8% in September to 14,249 homes, months of supply reached 5.41 and listings took an average of 63 days to go under contract, according to an analysis by Grant Hammond, a broker with Compass RE, using an Oct. 4 report date. The regional median sale price rose 2% to $444,169. Hammond's monthly count showed new listings down 19% in September, a different period and geography than Redfin's four-week metro figure. Supply at that level sits within the four-to-six-month range Hammond describes as balanced. Redfin's September analysis ranked Nashville second among big-metro buyer's markets, as Iron Hill Brief reported.

What slowing home prices mean for buyers

For buyers, the combination of record price cuts, longer market times and more listings has shifted negotiating leverage, even as higher financing costs keep monthly payments elevated. The share of homes selling above list price edged up to 23.6% from 23.2% a year earlier, and the average sale-to-list price ratio rose to 98.4% from 98.3%, indicating that well-priced homes continue to draw competitive offers. Buyers can test how a price and payment fit a budget with the Iron Hill Mortgage affordability calculator.

Redfin's weekly figures are subject to revision.

Sources

• Redfin, "Redfin Reports List Prices Fall for the First Time Since March," Oct. 15, 2026: https://www.redfin.com/news/press-releases/redfin-reports-list-prices-fall-for-the-first-time-since-march/
• Redfin, housing market update, four weeks ending Oct. 11, 2026, Oct. 15, 2026: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-asking-prices-decline-october
• Grant Hammond, Compass RE, "Middle Tennessee Real Estate Market Update September 2026," Oct. 5, 2026, Realtracs MLS data with Oct. 4 report date: https://www.granthammond.com/market-analysis/nashville-housing-market/middle-tennessee-real-estate-market-update-september-2026/