Slow Summer Pace Drives Home Sales Downward

August 19, 2025 Demetria C. Lester

The average home that was under contract in July was listed for 43 days. According to a recent report from Redfin, reflecting the largest duration for any July since 2015 and up from 35 days a year earlier.

Due to declining demand brought on by high homebuying expenses and economic uncertainty, homes are taking longer to sell. Existing home sales decreased slightly to the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,150,266 in almost a year, while pending home sales dropped 1.1% month-over-month (MoM) in July to the lowest seasonally adjusted level since November 2023.

Supply has been increasing as a result of homes remaining on the market, providing buyers with more choices and less pressure. Despite down 1.1% from June—the worst monthly seasonally-adjusted decline in over two years—active listings of houses for sale in July were close to the highest level in five years. The seasonally-adjusted number of new listings dropped 0.4% MoM to its lowest level since March 2024.

“Supply is starting to fall because prospective sellers are choosing not to list after seeing their neighbor’s home linger on the market or sell for below the asking price,” said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “Some existing sellers are also pulling their homes off the market, opting instead to rent their house out or hold off on a move altogether—especially if they bought at the peak of the pandemic market and are worried about taking a loss.”

July 2025 Housing Market Highlights — National

Metrics July 2025Month-over-month change (MoM)Year-over-year change (YoY)
Median sale price$443,867-0.6%1.4%
Existing-home sales, seasonally adjusted annual rate4,150,266-0.3%-0.5%
Pending home sales, seasonally adjusted470,474-1.1%-0.9%
Homes sold, seasonally adjusted423,0900%-0.9%
New listings, seasonally adjusted526,244-0.4%-1.3%
Total homes for sale, seasonally adjusted (active listings)1,919,066-1.0%11.1%
Months of supply3.100.4
Median days on market4338
Share of homes that sold above final list price28.9%-2.1 ppts-4.3 ppts
Average sale-to-final-list-price ratio99.0%-0.3 ppts-0.6 ppts
Pending sales that fell out of contract, as % of overall pending sales15.3%0.9 ppts0.8 ppts
Monthly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate6.72%-0.1 ppts-0.13 ppts

Examining Home Price Growth, Competition & Purchasing

In July, the median price of a home sold increased 1.4% year-over-year (YoY) to $443,867, the highest July price ever recorded. In contrast, June saw a 0.9% annual price increase, while May saw a 0.7% annual price increase. This is noteworthy because home-price growth was slowing at the start of the year.

For months, buyers have been merely waiting. Now that sellers are participating as well, prices are probably getting a little hotter. The good news for purchasers is that mortgage payments have begun to decline even while home values are increasing. In mid-July, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 6.75% and is currently at 6.58%.

The largest July discount since 2020 occurred in July, when the average home sold for around 1% less than its asking price. The July percentage was the lowest since 2019, with less than one-third (28.9%) of properties selling for more than their final asking price. Homebuyer competition has decreased, at least nationally, according to these two statistics.

Some purchasers are pulling out of agreements after they have already been signed; in July, around 58,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled, which accounted for 15.3% of all homes under contract that month. This is the highest July rate since 2017.

Because there is less competition and a greater selection of homes, buyers generally have more negotiation power than they did in previous years. But if the supply keeps getting smaller, the power can begin to move back in favor of sellers. For the time being, Redfin agents advise sellers who wish to draw in buyers to make sure their homes are in good condition and priced fairly—as overpriced homes frequently take a long time to sell.

“It’s a weird market right now,” said Shauna Pendleton, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Boise, ID. “For the most part, it’s crickets. I recently did a $100,000 price drop on my listing that had sat on the market for several weeks at over $600,000, only to lure one interested buyer. But there are also pockets of competition. I had a fixer-upper listing get seven offers after we priced it aggressively at $320,000.”

Additional Metro-Level Highlights — July 2025

  • Prices: Median sale prices rose most from a year earlier in Cleveland (12.8%), Nassau County, NY (7.1%) and Indianapolis (7.1%). They fell most in Oakland, CA (-6.1%), Jacksonville, FL (-3.9%) and West Palm Beach, FL (-3.8%).
  • Pending home sales: Pending sales rose most in Phoenix (11.2%), Austin, TX (6.8%) and Houston (6.1%). They fell most in Portland, OR (-12.6%), Miami (-11.8%) and Tampa, FL (-11.7%).
  • Closed home sales: Home sales rose most in Houston (4.8%), Virginia Beach, VA (3.7%) and San Francisco (3.2%). They fell most in Miami (-20.2%), San Antonio (-15.3%) and San Jose, CA (-10.1%).
  • New listings: New listings rose most in Houston (26.9%), Montgomery County, PA (7.4%) and Cleveland (7.1%). They fell most in San Francisco (-19%), Jacksonville (-15.6%) and Tampa (-13.5%).
  • Active listings: Active listings rose most in Las Vegas (28.4%), Houston (25.5%) and Dallas (23.6%). They fell in four metros: San Francisco (-11.2%), Nassau County (-4.4%), Portland, OR (-1%) and Kansas City, MO (-0.9%).
  • Sold above list price: In Newark, NJ, 67.2% of homes sold above their final list price, the highest share among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next came Nassau County (59.9%) and Milwaukee (54.3%). The lowest shares were in West Palm Beach (6.4%), Fort Lauderdale (7.7%) and Miami (7.9%).
  • Days on market: In Fort Lauderdale, the typical home that went under contract did so in 92 days, up 23 days from a year earlier—the biggest increase among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next came West Palm Beach (+18 days) and Miami (+18 days). Kansas City, MO was the only metro that saw a decrease (-6 days Y/Y).

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The post Slow Summer Pace Drives Home Sales Downward first appeared on The MortgagePoint.

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