If you’re in the market for a home in 2026, you’ve picked a good time to buy. After several years of affordability strain, limited inventory, and a sharp slowdown in activity, real estate professionals note that the real estate market is finally showing signs of steadying.
“After a challenging period for buyers, sellers and renters, 2026 should offer a welcome, if modest, step toward a healthier housing market,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com noted in the website’s annual housing forecast, published in early December. “Incomes climbing faster than inflation as mortgage rates steady at a lower level create space for affordability to improve. Declining rental prices will continue to give renters more relief from pandemic highs. It’s not a dramatic reset, but it’s a meaningful shift that moves the market back toward balance.”
The website forecasts that the average 30-year mortgage rate will hold near 6.3% in 2026 and home prices will rise approximately 2.2%.
Here’s what else Realtor.com says buyers and sellers can expect:
- Rents will drop slightly, by -1.0% nationally. Rents in the South and West could see larger declines
- An 8.9% increase in existing home inventory continuing the trend from the past two years
- Home sales will grow 1.7% year over year to 4.13 million
- Affordability will improve modestly as the monthly payment to buy the typical home is expected to slip to 29.3% of median income, its first year under the 30% affordability threshold since 2022.
- Balanced Market: The national housing market will remain in balanced territory in 2026, averaging 4.6 months of supply across the year.
“The path back toward historic levels of affordability will be gradual, but 2026 takes a solid step in the right direction,” Hale concluded. “For many buyers who have spent years navigating limited options and steep competition, a balanced market with more choices and slightly lower cost burdens can be a game-changer, even if conditions remain far from easy.”