The number of homes on the U.S. market rose to 1.60 million in September, enough to last 4.8 months at the current pace of sales, the National Association of Realtors reports. A year earlier the supply was 4.5 months. More choice for buyers has a flip side for sellers, who now share the market with more competing listings.
What a 4.8-month supply actually measures
The NAR release counts total housing inventory at the end of the month: 1.60 million units, up 1.9% from August and up 4.6% from September 2025. That is a stock of homes for sale, not the number of new listings added during the month.
Months’ supply is derived from that stock. It asks how long the market would take to sell every listed home at the latest sales pace, which was 3.99 million a year, seasonally adjusted. The answer was 4.8 months, unchanged from August.
For a homeowner thinking about downsizing, the more practical number is time on the market. NAR puts the median at 33 days in September, up from 31 in August and level with a year earlier. That is the typical wait for homes that sold, not a promise for any one listing.
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Sales did not keep pace with listings
Existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September from August but were down 2.2% from a year earlier. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said August and September were “the two slowest months for home sales this year.”
Mortgage rates are part of the reason. Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.86% in September, up from 6.67% in August and 6.35% a year earlier, according to NAR. “Further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify to purchase a home,” Yun said.
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index slipped to 105.4 from 106.7 a year earlier. Yun said higher inventory and lengthening days on market “give buyers improved negotiating power.” His advice to sellers was blunt: they “need to be realistic about local market conditions.”
Prices still rise, but not evenly
The median existing-home price was $417,500, up 1.3% from $412,300 a year earlier. It was the 39th straight month of annual gains. A median is the midpoint of all closed sales, so it moves with the mix of homes that sold as well as with what any single house is worth.
Single-family homes had a median of $422,700, up 1.2%. Condos and co-ops had a median of $363,700, also up 1.2%. But condo and co-op sales ran at 350,000 a year, down 2.8% from August and 5.4% from a year earlier, a sharper annual drop than the 1.9% decline for single-family sales.
That matters to homeowners who plan to swap a house for a condo. The cheaper option sits in the part of the market where sales are falling faster.
Who is buying the homes that sell?
First-time buyers made up 31% of September sales, up from 30% in August and a year earlier. Cash sales were 27%, unchanged from August and down from 30% a year earlier. Individual investors and second-home buyers made up 20% of sales, up from 15% in August.
Distressed sales were just 2%. A seller does not see many forced sales competing on price, but does see a smaller share of cash buyers, which leaves more deals dependent on mortgage rates near 6.9%.
One national number, four different markets
Month to month, sales rose 2.8% in both the South and the West, held steady in the Midwest and fell 2.1% in the Northeast. Year over year, sales fell in all four regions: 4.1% in the Northeast, 2.1% in the Midwest, 0.5% in the South and 5.2% in the West.
Prices split just as widely. The Northeast median was $523,600, up 4.7% from a year earlier. The Midwest was $329,600, up 3.1%, and the South $361,000, up 0.2%. The West, at $613,600, was the only region where the median fell, down 0.3%.
A 4.8-month national supply therefore covers a wide range. The latest national figures are on NAR’s existing-home sales page, and the next report, covering October, is scheduled for November 12.
The association reports these figures nationally and by region only, so the local number a seller needs comes from local sold and pending data. What the national picture does show is the direction: more homes on the market, a slower pace of sales and a longer wait than a year ago.
Single-family homes drive the headline. They sold at a 3.64 million annual pace in September, up 2.0% from August and down 1.9% from a year earlier. Because they make up the bulk of sales, a seller of a traditional house is mostly competing in that segment.
Price gains of 1.3% are modest against the cost of waiting. With rates above 6.8% and affordability slipping, buyers have room to negotiate, and Yun’s remark that sellers should be realistic is aimed at exactly that gap between a hoped-for price and the one a buyer can finance.
Selling the house to downsize?
A longer wait on the market means more months of property tax, utility bills and upkeep on a house that is already listed. With the median home taking 33 days to sell and supply at 4.8 months, that carrying cost is the part a seller controls least.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and the circuit-breaker credit that includes renters. It also carries an application log and renewal calendar, so the house costs less to hold while the sale plays out.
It is built for the homeowner who stays in the house, or in a rental, a little longer than planned.
Get the property-tax relief guide and renewal calendar →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
