NAR: Home Prices Rose in 78 Percent of Metro Areas in the Third Quarter; National Median Single-Family Price Was $432,900
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported from Washington on October 29 that home prices rose year over year in 78 percent of the roughly 235 metro areas it tracks in the third quarter of 2026, down slightly from 80 percent in the second quarter; 4 percent of markets posted double-digit gains, compared with 5 percent in the second quarter.
The national median price for an existing single-family home was $432,900, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier. By region, the Northeast median was $561,500 (up 4.0 percent), the Midwest $342,500 (up 3.6 percent), the South $374,900 (up 1.0 percent) and the West $629,000 (down 0.6 percent).
The largest gains were in Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi, up 11.0 percent, followed by Rochester, New York, up 10.9 percent, and Jackson, Mississippi, up 10.1 percent. The most expensive market was San Jose, California, at a median of $1,920,000 (up 0.3 percent), followed by Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine at $1,470,000 and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward at $1,350,900.
The typical monthly mortgage payment, with 20 percent down, was $2,251, up $48 from the prior quarter and $69 from a year ago, equal to 24.1 percent of income. A starter home cost $368,000, with a payment of $2,208 equal to 36.3 percent of income. Prices declined in 21 percent of markets.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted the long build-up in home equity, observing that the average house has appreciated by about $146,000 over seven years.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国郊区住宅区（资料图）。David Shankbone 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A suburban housing area in the United States (file photo). Photo by David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
