Redfin Reports The U.S. Housing Market Is Stuck, With Sales and Listings Barely Budging

Numerous housing metrics were flat in October—a notable shift from the ups and downs of recent years, according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.

Pending home sales were little changed from both a month and a year earlier. So were closed home sales and new listings. Price growth has also shown signs of plateauing. The median home sale price rose 1.4% year over year to $440,523 in October. That pales in comparison to the big swings of 2020-2024, and even 2025; prices were up as much as 4.1% at the start of the year.

Existing-home sales are also flattening out. They came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million in October, little changed from both a month and a year earlier. Redfin economists expect existing-home sales to end the year roughly flat with 2024, which was the worst year for sales since 1995.

The housing market has been stagnating for a while, but this past year has been especially stagnant. For example, the low for pending sales over the past year was 477,141 in January, and the high was 502,003 last November. That’s a gap of just 24,862—the smallest gap for any 12-month period since 2013. There is a similar trend with new listings and prices.

“Many would-be homebuyers and sellers are paralyzed by high prices and economic uncertainty,” said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “Homebuying activity has stabilized at below-normal levels, and while selling activity has also slowed, there are still a lot more sellers in the market than buyers. That’s allowing the people who are moving ahead with home purchases to score discounts and other concessions from sellers.”

Redfin estimates there are roughly 500,000 more home sellers than buyers actively in the market, which means the buyers who are in the market hold the negotiating power. Redfin agents report that many of the people who are selling now are people who have to sell, be it for a job change, a divorce or another major life event.

October 2025 Housing Market Highlights: United States

	October 2025	Month-over-month change	Year-over-year change
Median sale price	$440,523	1.2%	1.4%
Existing-home sales, seasonally adjusted annual rate