Sellers slashed home prices in September 2026 in response to rising mortgage rates, prompting potential homebuyers to emerge from the sidelines. According to the latest Realtor.com monthly housing market trends report, the share of listings with price cuts exceeded 2025 levels for the first time in 2026, reaching 20.8%, up 0.9 percentage points year over year. This surge in price cuts aligns with broader housing market shifts, such as accelerating inventory growth and decreasing pending home sales.
“Demand rarely picks up much this time of year regardless, but the rate environment and underlying geopolitical uncertainty made sure the housing market’s fall stall came early this year,” said Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel.
Price reductions remained least common in the Northeast at 15.2% and the Midwest at 20.7%, as both of those regions have markets with less inventory. The South settled in the middle at 21.8%, while the West recorded the largest year-over-year increase in price reductions, which surged 1.8 percentage points to 22.8%.
