The U.S. housing market is experiencing a moment of "surprising durability."
In July, home price growth accelerated — the median home price climbed to $400,000, 2.6% higher than the same time a year earlier — even as the number of homes on the market climbed 4.4%, according to exclusive Homes.com data.
The number of sales also rose, increasing 2.9% from July 2025.
It's an unusual and somewhat unexpected combination of conditions.
"While local markets and housing types followed different paths, national home prices continued to show surprising durability in the face of a less favorable interest-rate environment and a larger supply of homes for sale," according to the report.
Typically, when more houses hit the market, buyers gain more choice, and home prices weaken. That's not happening, though.
“July’s data show that home prices have continued to hold up despite conditions that many observers would have expected to place more downward pressure on the market,” Brad Case, chief residential economist for Homes.com, said in a statement.
Higher mortgage rates can also add downward pressure to prices. When buyers spend more of their budgets on loan payments, it can create greater incentive for sellers to lower prices. But that isn't happening either.
“Mortgage rates rose substantially between late February and late July, but the mortgage lock-in effect appears to be easing, and more owners have been willing to put their homes on the market," Case added in his statement. "Buyers, too, showed a greater willingness to transact at higher mortgage rates.”
"Year-over-year growth in the inventory of homes for sale hasn't been this strong since last October," Case added in an email to Homes.com News. "What that means is that the mortgage rate 'lock-in effect' has eased decisively: Sellers have put their homes on the market because they're not put off by the idea of becoming buyers at today's mortgage rates."
In July, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage climbed even further — averaging between about 6.43% and 6.66%, according to weekly data from Freddie Mac. As of last Thursday, the loan averaged 6.67%.
"It truly is a surprisingly strong market, and it seems to be extending the normal peak of the homebuying season," Case said.
Major metropolitan areas
Even as the national market continued to exhibit resilience, local markets told a different story.
While markets including Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh and Detroit experienced home price growth of 5% or more over the year, 13 markets saw them stagnate or decline.
Indeed, Seattle saw the biggest decline, with a 3.9% drop in price growth. Raleigh, North Carolina and San Jose, California, also saw prices soften by more than 3%. Dallas, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles marked price declines, too.
In all, about 66% of the 932 markets measured by Homes.com's data saw increases in home sale prices in July.
There were also differences across home types.
Single-family home prices grew 2.5%, and condos saw a 2.3% increase, but the townhouse market experienced just a 0.8% rise, according to Homes.com.
This story was originally reported by Moira Ritter for Homes.com/News.