Home equity soars to a record US$18T but cracks remain in the US housing market
Buyer pool shrinks to a record low
The number of active homebuyers in the United States fell to its lowest level on record in July according to a Redfin report. Approximately 966,752 buyers were active in the market last month (down 2.5% from June) while roughly 1,462,921 sellers remained listed, meaning there were an estimated 51.3% more sellers than buyers.
That gap is approaching the December 2025 peak of 51.8%, and it has pushed 39 of 49 major US metros into buyer’s market territory. The most lopsided conditions are in Miami, where there are 154% more sellers than buyers, followed by Nashville at 151% and Houston at 130%.
“Buyers are dropping out faster than sellers, giving remaining buyers more options,” said Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin. Khan attributed the pullback to high housing costs and broader economic uncertainty, compounded by mortgage rates that climbed to their highest point in a year during July.
Affordability headwinds remain severe as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.69% for the week ending August 9, translating to a median monthly mortgage payment of $2,626 on the typical US home, up 1.7% year-over-year, Redfin’s weekly housing tracker reveals.
Early signs of market activity, but sales remain subdued
Despite the buyer retreat, Redfin’s weekly data showed faint signs of movement with pending home sales up 0.4% week-over-week for the four weeks ending August 9 (seasonally adjusted), though they remained 1.6% below the same period in 2025. New listings rose 1.7% week-over-week (the largest weekly gain in five months) and mortgage purchase applications climbed 3% week-over-week.
