Housing Market Spotlight: What the national median price isn’t telling you

The national median list price declined last week. The median price of newly listed homes increased. Both are true. One market, two pricing signals The overall active median reflects every home currently listed for sale, regardless of when it entered the market or how many price adjustments it has undergone. The new listing median shows how sellers entering the market today are pricing their homes. When those two measures move in the same direction, they tell a consistent pricing story. When they diverge, the overall median blends homes already on the market with homes entering the market today. Looking at each measure separately reveals pricing signals the blended median can hide. Housing demand continues to outperform expectations despite elevated mortgage rates. As HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami reported in this week’s Housing Market Tracker, weekly pending sales, total pending sales and mortgage purchase applications all remained positive year over year, although growth has slowed as mortgage rates have remained above his key 6.64% threshold. HousingWire Data shows that local markets are responding differently. For the week ending July 31, the national overall active...