Realtor.com® Market Clock® Report: Buyers Gain Ground as Mortgage Rates Top 7%
PR Newswire•19/10/2026•06:00 ET
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Key Highlights
- ➤Mortgage rates rose 74 basis points to 7.40% by October 8
- ➤Fixed $2,000 monthly budgets lost 7.2% purchasing power, over $22,000
- ➤National Market Clock moved to 4 o'clock, late balanced and loosening
- ➤27 metros favor sellers, 17 favor buyers, and 49 are loosening
- ➤South holds 14 of 17 buyer markets; Midwest has 16 of 18 seller markets
Expert Statements
Danielle Hale, Chief economist, Realtor.com
“The Market Clock® tool helps buyers and sellers understand their negotiating power by bringing together housing inventory, sales, and contract activity. It shows how well supply and demand are balanced and how conditions are shifting.”
Danielle Hale, Chief economist, Realtor.com
“The tool gives buyers and sellers a picture of what's happening now so they can make well-informed decisions in a rapidly changing market. Its latest reading shows buyers gaining ground nationally and in many markets. Even so, affordability is likely to continue as a top concern for shoppers, especially as mortgage rates above 7% limit how much home a fixed budget can buy.”
Jake Krimmel, Senior economist, Realtor.com
“More buyers can negotiate in more markets, but a bigger negotiating advantage doesn't always mean more affordability.”
Jake Krimmel, Senior economist, Realtor.com
“As rates rise, the same monthly budget supports a lower home price. Market leverage and purchasing power are moving in opposite directions right now.”
Jake Krimmel, Senior economist, Realtor.com
“The Midwest has the strongest seller presence, with 16 of 18 metros in seller's territory, while the South holds 14 of the country's 17 buyer's markets.”
Jake Krimmel, Senior economist, Realtor.com
“That is a sharp regional split, not a single national pattern. The map is still shifting too, with 41 metros changing clock positions over the past quarter.”
Realtor.com® Market Clock® Report: Buyers Gain Ground as Mortgage Rates Top 7% PR Newswire
About two-thirds of metros favor buyers or are moving that way, but higher rates are shrinking what a fixed monthly budget can buy
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