April 3, 2026
Overview
- The Realtor.com® economics team weekly video update gives you the relevant economic and real estate information you need to know each week every Friday to navigate the housing market as a homebuyer, home seller, or industry professional.
- In this week’s housing market update for April 3rd, 2026, Senior Economist Joel Berner of Realtor.com examines how the ongoing war in Iran is rippling through the U.S. housing market. The conflict has stoked inflation fears, pushing mortgage rates sharply higher after they had dipped below 6% for the first time in years — the Freddie Mac rate has since climbed to 6.46%, raising the monthly payment on a median-priced home by $117 in just five weeks. Despite this, March inventory data paints a buyer-friendly picture: the median listing price fell 2.2% year-over-year to $415,450, active listings rose 8.1% to nearly 965,000 — the most since before the pandemic — and homes are sitting on the market four days longer than last year. While the best week to sell is approaching (April 12–18), this spring is shaping up well for buyers too, especially given a strong jobs report showing unemployment ticking down to 4.3%, 178,000 jobs added, and steady 3.5% wage growth — all of which improve affordability as home prices continue to fall.
- You’ll find all the details including full reports and our housing data for download at realtor.com/research. You can also follow us on X (formerly twitter) for real time updates. And instagram @realtordotcomecon for graphics.
Reports and articles referenced
- March Employment Report Commentary
Housing data for download
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
- The war in Iran is having its effects felt all over the world, but at home, one possibly overlooked casualty of the conflict is the housing market. I’m Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, and this week we’ll talk about the war’s impact on mortgage rates, the buyer-friendly state of the housing market in March, and what the most recent jobs report shows us about buyers’ ability to make a home purchase.
- President Trump said on Wednesday night that American military objectives in Iran were on track to being completed, but that the war was weeks from being over. This is not the news home buyers and sellers were hoping to hear.
- Before the war started a little over one month ago, the 30 year fixed mortgage rate had been on a long smooth decline, and finally dipped below 6% for the first time in three and a half years. Since then, we’ve seen five consecutive weeks of increases and this week the Freddie Mac rate came in at 6.46%, the highest in seven months.
- The war is stoking fears of inflation, which drives up interest rates. If prices in the future are expected to be higher, then a dollar in the future is worth less and more of them are required for making a purchase today, like buying a home.
- The effect in the housing market is that the monthly payment on March’s median-priced home with 10% down is $117 higher at today’s mortgage rates than it was just five weeks ago. We know that buyers’ budgets are already spread thin, and this increased cost to finance a home purchase could keep many of them out of the market.
- The market, as evidenced by our monthly inventory data from March, is positioned nicely for buyers this spring.
- Home prices are falling, down 2.2% from last year to $415,450. This is the lowest median listing price in March since 2022.
- Active listing count, or the number of homes for sale, is rising, up 8.1% from last March to 964,477. There are more homes for sale in March than in any year since before the pandemic.
- Time on market is up, as homes spend 57 days for sale, 4 days longer than last year, though still 5 days fewer than the average before the pandemic.
- What’s the takeaway from the March market data? Buyers have more options to choose from at lower prices and in less of a hurry. And even though mortgage rates are climbing right now, they’re still lower than they were last year at this time. The best time of year to sell a home is approaching, that’s April 12-18th, but this spring is shaping up nicely for buyers as well.
- In more good news for homebuyers, this week’s jobs report showed the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.3% as 178,000 jobs were added, and wage growth came in at 3.5% year over year. Incomes growing at a steady if slightly slow pace while home prices continue to fall means that affordability is improving for buyers. In addition, this positive jobs outcome takes some pressure off of the Federal Reserve, which can now focus on managing inflation with less fear of the no-growth scenario that February’s report hinted at.
- You can find all of these reports, including alongside our housing data for download, at realtor.com/research. You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter) for real-time updates and instagram for graphics.
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