Existing Home Sales & Home Prices
Latest data: August 1, 2026 · Updated automatically from official sources
Existing homes account for the large majority of U.S. home sales. Unlike new construction, resale supply depends almost entirely on whether current owners are willing to list — a dynamic that made the “lock-in effect” of low pandemic-era mortgage rates a defining feature of the recent housing cycle. This page pairs sales volume with the two most widely used measures of home prices.
Latest readings
- Existing Home Sales was 3,980.00M as of August 2026, down 2.0% from the prior reading and down 1.2% from a year earlier — the lowest reading since records in this series began in 2025.
- Case-Shiller HPI was up 1.5% year over year in June 2026, compared with 1.2% in the prior period and 1.9% a year earlier.
- Median Price, Houses Sold was $410,700 as of Q2 2026, up 0.5% from the prior reading and down 1.3% from a year earlier.
Existing home sales
Case-Shiller national home price index
Median sales price of houses sold
Recent readings
| Period | Case-Shiller home prices (YoY) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 1.5% | +0.32 pp |
| May 2026 | 1.2% | +0.24 pp |
| April 2026 | 1.0% | +0.19 pp |
| March 2026 | 0.8% | -0.04 pp |
| February 2026 | 0.8% | -0.13 pp |
| January 2026 | 1.0% | -0.20 pp |
| December 2025 | 1.2% | -0.14 pp |
| November 2025 | 1.3% | -0.03 pp |
| October 2025 | 1.3% | +0.01 pp |
| September 2025 | 1.3% | -0.18 pp |
| August 2025 | 1.5% | -0.16 pp |
| July 2025 | 1.7% | -0.29 pp |
| June 2025 | 1.9% | — |
Key statistics
| Indicator | Latest | Year ago | 5-yr avg | Long-run avg | Record high | Record low | Data since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Existing Home Sales (ann.) | 3,980.00M | 4,030.00M | 4,087.69M | 4,087.69M | 4,270.00M (Dec 2025) | 3,980.00M (Aug 2026) | 2025 |
| Case-Shiller HPI (YoY) | 1.5% | 1.9% | 7.2% | 4.4% | 20.8% (Mar 2022) | -12.8% (Feb 2009) | 1988 |
| Median Price, Houses Sold | $410,700 | $416,100 | $417,695 | $162,194 | $442,600 (Oct 2022) | $17,800 (Jan 1963) | 1963 |
Two ways to measure home prices
A median sales price is simple — half of homes sold for more, half for less — but it shifts whenever the mix of homes sold changes. If more large or expensive homes sell in a quarter, the median rises even if no individual home gained value. The median shown here comes from the Census Bureau’s survey of houses sold and is published quarterly.
The Case-Shiller index avoids that problem with a repeat-sales method: it compares the sale prices of the same houses over time. That makes it the better gauge of how much a typical home has appreciated, at the cost of a roughly two-month publication lag. The national index used here is not seasonally adjusted, so econHQ shows its year-over-year change, which removes seasonal patterns.
What drives existing home sales
Existing home sales count closings, so they reflect contracts signed one to two months earlier. Volume depends on three things: affordability (prices relative to incomes and mortgage rates), inventory (how many owners list), and confidence. When mortgage rates rise well above the rates existing owners locked in, many owners choose not to move — keeping inventory and sales low even when demand is healthy.
Frequently asked questions
How often is existing home sales data released?
The National Association of Realtors publishes existing home sales monthly, usually in the third or fourth week of the following month.
Why is the Case-Shiller index two months behind?
The index is built from recorded property transactions, which take time to collect, and it is calculated as a three-month moving average. The latest release therefore reflects sales from roughly two to four months earlier.
Related data
Data are retrieved automatically from the original statistical agencies (via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database) and may be revised by the source. Year-over-year changes are calculated by econHQ. See About & methodology for details.