Data Analysis

Single-family home prices rose from a year earlier in 78 percent of U.S. metro areas in the third quarter of 2026, down from 80 percent in the second quarter, and the national median reached $432,900, up 1.7 percent, the National Association of Realtors reported.

NAR's Q3 metro report put the South's median at $374,900, up 1.0 percent, and said nearly all Florida markets now show price gains.

Single-family home prices rose from a year earlier in 78 percent of U.S. metro areas in the third quarter of 2026, the National Association of Realtors reported on October 29, down from 80 percent in the second quarter. The national median price of an existing single-family home was $432,900, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier. In the South, the region that includes Florida, the median was $374,900, up 1.0 percent. Prices fell in 21 percent of metros, up from 20 percent, and 4 percent posted double-digit gains, down from 5 percent. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said homes in nearly all Florida markets are showing price gains this quarter, after many Florida markets declined over the past year.

How much did home prices rise in the third quarter of 2026?

NAR's quarterly metro report put the median existing single-family price at $432,900 nationally, 1.7 percent above the third quarter of 2025. Three of the four regions posted gains:

• Northeast: $561,500, up 4.0 percent
• Midwest: $342,500, up 3.6 percent
• South: $374,900, up 1.0 percent
• West: $629,000, down 0.6 percent

The South had the smallest gain of the three regions that rose. The West was the only region where the median fell from a year earlier.

What did NAR say about Florida home prices?

NAR's release names no Florida metro and gives no Florida prices. The only Florida reference is Yun's statement that homes in nearly all Florida markets are showing price gains this quarter, after declines in many Florida markets over the past year. NAR's metro price tables, which list individual Florida metros, did not load for our fetcher when this article was written, so this article does not report any Florida metro median from NAR. We will add those figures when they can be read from NAR's own site.

Other recent data point the same way for South Florida but not everywhere. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index, reported October 27, showed Miami prices up 4.2 percent from a year earlier in August and Tampa down 0.4 percent, as covered in our Case-Shiller article. Florida Realtors reported a statewide single-family median sale price of $415,000 in September, as covered in our Florida September market report. These measures use different methods and periods from NAR's metro medians and should not be compared directly.

Which metros had the biggest price gains?

Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi led NAR's list of the largest year-over-year gains at 11.0 percent, followed by Rochester, New York at 10.9 percent and Jackson, Mississippi at 10.1 percent. No Florida metro appears among the leaders NAR named.

The most expensive market was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, at a median of $1,920,000, up 0.3 percent, followed by Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California, at $1,470,000, up 5.0 percent. Salinas-Monterey, California, at $948,900, fell 7.0 percent. Yun said the average home has gained about $146,000 in value over the past seven years.

How affordable are homes in the third quarter of 2026?

NAR estimated the monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home bought with 20 percent down at $2,251 in the third quarter, up $48 from the second quarter and $69 from a year earlier. Families spent an average of 24.1 percent of income on mortgage payments, up from 23.9 percent in the second quarter and down from 24.5 percent a year earlier.

For first-time buyers, NAR priced a typical starter home at $368,000 with 10 percent down. The monthly payment was $2,208, up $46 from the prior quarter, and took 36.3 percent of income, up from 36.0 percent last quarter and down from 37.0 percent a year earlier.

Rates have moved since the quarter ended. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed average was 7.24 percent in the week ending October 29, as covered in our mortgage rates article.

What does this mean for Florida buyers and sellers?

A smaller share of metros rising, and a South region gaining only 1.0 percent, describe a market where prices are near flat in much of the country even as payments climb with rates. For Florida sellers, Yun's comment that nearly all Florida markets now show gains is a change from a year of declines, but NAR has not yet published the Florida figures behind it on its readable pages. Buyers should check prices and listing trends in their own market on the Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville market pages and the Florida housing tracker.

When is NAR's next metro home price report?

NAR's metro price page lists the next release for Wednesday, February 3, 2027, covering the fourth quarter of 2026.

People also ask

What is the median home price in the U.S. in Q3 2026?

NAR put the median existing single-family home price at $432,900 in the third quarter of 2026, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier.

What is the median home price in the South?

The South's median existing single-family price was $374,900 in the third quarter of 2026, up 1.0 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR.

Are Florida home prices going up?

NAR's chief economist said homes in nearly all Florida markets showed price gains in the third quarter of 2026, after many Florida markets declined over the past year. NAR's release gives no Florida metro figures.

What share of metro areas saw home prices fall?

Prices fell from a year earlier in 21 percent of metros in the third quarter of 2026, up from 20 percent in the second quarter.

Limitations

NAR's metro medians cover existing single-family homes sold through Realtor-reported transactions and are not adjusted for the mix of homes sold, so a median can move because different homes sold. This article uses NAR's press release and metro price page; NAR's metro tables did not load for us, so no Florida metro figure from NAR is reported, and Yun's Florida statement could not be checked against the tables. Affordability figures are NAR's estimates and depend on its assumptions about rates and income. Case-Shiller and Florida Realtors figures are cited only for context and use different methods and periods.

Sources

National Association of Realtors, third-quarter 2026 metro home prices press release, October 29, 2026, nar.realtor newsroom; NAR Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability page, Q3 2026. S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, August 2026, released October 27, 2026. Florida Realtors, September 2026 statewide housing data, released October 16, 2026. Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, October 29, 2026.

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.