October saw an estimated 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase in starter-home sales as purchasers took advantage of greater options and slight price increases. Following a protracted period of YoY decreases, mid-priced (+0.7%) and high-priced (+0.8%) home sales also increased from the previous year. This is according to a new Redfin study.
This is based on a Redfin analysis in which the prices of homes sold over a rolling 12-month period are used to categorize U.S. properties into tiers. This analysis focuses on starter homes, which we define as those whose sale price fell between the fifth and thirty-fifth percentiles. We contrast starter homes with high-priced residences (65th–95th percentile) and mid-priced homes (35th–65th percentile). This research focuses on August–October 2025; our price-tier data is computed in rolling three-month periods.
Metro-Level Starter Home Highlights: October 2025
- Prices: The median sale price of starter homes rose most in Milwaukee (10.8% to $221,615), St. Louis (10.0% to $150,747) and Detroit (9.6% to $96,463). The largest declines were in Jacksonville, FL (-4.4% to $247,678), Austin, Texas (-4.2% to $316,927) and San Antonio, TX (-3.7% to $216,409).
- Sales: Starter-home sales increased most in San Francisco (19.5%), Providence, RI (13.0%) and Portland, OR (12.9%). They decreased most in San Antonio, Texas (-9.6%), Detroit (-7.9%) and Nashville, TN (-5.5%).
- Active listings: The total number of starter homes for sale increased most in Las Vegas (32.1%), Newark, NJ (30.3%) and San Diego, CA (26.5%). Active listings fell most in San Francisco (-5.1%), and also declined slightly in San Jose, CA (-1.7%) and Tampa, FL (-1.2%).
- New listings: New listings of starter homes increased most in Newark, NJ (14.3%), Detroit (11.7%) and St. Louis (10.1%). New listings fell most in Jacksonville, FL (-15.0%), San Antonio, Texas (-12.2%) and Orlando, FL (-10.1%).
- Speed of sales: Starter homes sold fastest in Indianapolis with a median of 22 days, followed by Warren, MI (23 days), Boston (23 days) and Kansas City, MO (23 days). They sold slowest in Fort Lauderdale, FL (114 days), West Palm Beach, FL (101 days) and Miami (88 days)
Note: Data is subjected to be updated.
| Housing Data By Home Price Tier (October 2025) | ||||||
| Redfin Home Tiers | Home Price Percentile | Median Sale Price | Median Sale Price YoY | Homes Sold YoY | Pending Sales YoY | Active Listings YoY |
| Starter | 5%-35% | $260,000 | 2.0% | 4.9% | 5.5% | 13.0% |
| Mid | 35%-65% | $373,249 | 1.8% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 9.5% |
| High | 65%-95% | $577,593 | 3.1% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 8.3% |
Sales of starter houses have been rising for over a year, continuously outpacing the rest of the market through 2025 as consumers turn their attention to the most reasonably priced properties. The beginning tier saw the largest gain (+5.5%), followed by lesser rises for mid-priced (+1.4%) and high-priced (+1.1%) properties, according to pending-sales statistics.
“The starter-home market is a double-edged sword right now. Conditions are improving, with more listings and steadier prices, but many buyers are only turning to this tier because they have been priced out of higher tiers,” said Redfin Head of Economic Research Chen Zhao. “That means sales at the low end of the market are relatively strong, but it also means that first-time buyers may find themselves competing with move-up or move-down buyers.”
The increase in sales across all tiers is also being fueled by mortgage rates remaining below 6.5% over the past few months, with mid- and high-priced homes moving into positive territory following months of YoY declines.
Starter-Home Costs, Sales Vary Across the Nation
Prices are not rising as a result of the rise in starter-home sales. In October, the average U.S. starter home price increased by a meager 2% YoY to $260,000, the second-slowest growth in the last 10 years, behind only April 2024 (+1.8%), when mortgage rates were rising beyond 7.5%. In addition to approaching decade-long lows for price growth, the median price of mid- and high-priced homes increased by 1.8% and 3.1%, respectively.
Part of the reason for the slight increase in starter-home costs is that there are more of them available. October saw a 13% YoY increase in active starter home listings, bringing inventory to its highest October level since 2016. For first-time homebuyers, who have spent the majority of the last five years—particularly during the pandemic—competing for a small number of properties at the lower end of the market, that is a significant change.
Other price points saw slower increases in inventory. Mid-priced homes saw a 9.5% increase in active listings compared to a year ago, reaching their highest October level since 2019, while high-priced homes saw an 8.3% increase, reaching their highest October level since 2020.
“The slower pace of the market has really changed buyer behavior,” said Andrew Vallejo, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Austin. “People aren’t racing to waive contingencies or outbid ten other offers. If a starter home isn’t priced perfectly, it can sit for a bit, and buyers know that. They feel more comfortable negotiating because they’re not worried about losing the home in 24 hours.”
While new listings in the mid-priced and high-priced tiers decreased by 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively, starter home listings increased by just 0.5% YoY. This suggests that rather than a sudden influx of new sellers, a large portion of the overall inventory expansion across the three price levels is coming from properties that are still on the market.
In October, the average starter home signed a contract in 45 days, which was one week longer than the previous year. High-priced homes took 49 days (+7 days YoY), while mid-priced homes followed the same pattern, taking 45 days (+6 days YoY).
The post Starter-Home Sales Tick Up as Housing Supply Hits Near-Decade High first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
