July 2026 Real Estate News
The latest housing data from the National Association of Realtors® shows that existing-home sales dipped 2.4% nationwide from May to June but were still up 2.8% compared to this time last year. Here in the West, sales slipped a more modest 1.3% from the previous month and were also 2.8% higher than June 2025. Condominium sales, however, declined 2.7% both month over month and year over year.
Home prices continue to hold steady. The median existing-home price across the U.S. rose 1.8% from a year ago, marking 36 straight months of annual price appreciation. At the same time, affordability showed some improvement, with the Housing Affordability Index increasing in all four major regions, including an encouraging 8.9% gain in the West. June 2026 showed a continued drop in asking prices, down 2.5% year over year.
In Washington, lawmakers recently passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, one of the most significant federal housing bills in decades. The legislation officially became law on July 11 and is designed to increase housing supply and expand opportunities for homeownership. Among its provisions are measures to streamline new home construction, reduce regulatory hurdles, broaden the definition of manufactured housing, limit large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, speed up environmental reviews, ease certain zoning requirements, create a small-dollar mortgage program, and expand rental assistance. The goal is to make housing more accessible and affordable for everyday buyers, and the legislation has received broad support from housing and industry organizations.
Looking ahead, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve's meeting on July 28-29. At this point, most market analysts expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged. According to CME's FedWatch tool, there's about an 86% chance rates will remain where they are, while the odds of a quarter-point increase are around 14%. Current market expectations don't point to a rate cut for the remainder of the year, and some Fed officials continue to suggest that keeping rates higher for longer may be necessary to help control inflation.
Mortgage rates experienced a bit of a roller coaster this past week. Rates started the week at their highest level in nearly a year, but improved as the week went on. By Friday, they had eased slightly and finished just below where they were the previous Friday—a welcome sign after several weeks of upward pressure.
