The spring real estate market showed signs of slowing this week as higher mortgage rates and ongoing economic concerns caused many buyers and sellers to take a more cautious approach.
According to the latest Weekly Housing Trends report from the Realtor.com economic research team, uncertainty surrounding borrowing costs continues to weigh on overall market activity. Mortgage rates edged upward again while home prices continued to soften in many areas.
One major indicator, new listings, declined 2.5% compared to the same week last year for the period ending May 2. That follows a 1.4% drop the previous week and suggests some homeowners are still hesitant to put their properties on the market.
Jiayi Xu noted that while some sellers are beginning to reenter the market, fluctuating mortgage rates are still keeping others on the sidelines. Overall, the market remains active, but cautiously so.
Buyer demand also cooled slightly. Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed mortgage purchase applications fell 4% week over week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Even so, purchase activity remains about 5% higher than it was a year ago.
Joel Kan said global tensions and economic uncertainty continue to put upward pressure on mortgage rates, which has slowed both homebuying and refinancing activity.
New numbers from Freddie Mac show the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.37%, up from 6.30% the week before. While rates are still below last year’s 6.76% average, the recent increase appears to have interrupted some of the momentum the housing market had gained earlier this spring.
At the same time, inventory is improving. Active listings were up 2.7% from a year ago, giving buyers more choices than they had throughout much of 2025. However, inventory growth has started to slow compared to the stronger increases seen last month.
One bright spot for buyers is pricing. Median listing prices nationwide fell 2.9% year over year this week, continuing a downward trend after a 2.3% decline the previous week. This marks the 27th straight week in which asking prices were either flat or lower than the same period a year earlier.
Homes are also spending only about one extra day on the market compared to last spring, signaling a market that is gradually becoming more balanced and slightly more favorable for buyers.
Even so, the latest numbers highlight how sensitive today’s housing market remains to mortgage rate changes. For many Americans, both buyers and sellers alike, waiting to see what happens next appears to be the strategy for now.
