Data Analysis

Redfin reported West Palm Beach median sale prices up 8.1 percent from a year earlier for the four weeks ending August 30, 2026, the second largest increase among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, while Orlando fell 1.4 percent.

Nationally the median sale price rose 2.2 percent to $398,632 and new listings hit their highest level since August 2022. Pending sales fell 2.5 percent from a year earlier.

West Palm Beach median sale prices rose 8.1 percent from a year earlier in the four weeks ending August 30, 2026, the second largest increase among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, Redfin reported September 3. Orlando fell 1.4 percent, the fifth largest decrease in that same group. Nationally, the median sale price rose 2.2 percent to $398,632. New listings reached 383,795, up 8 percent from a year earlier and their highest level since August 2022. Pending sales fell 2.5 percent to 308,282.

Which metros led and lagged on price?

The five largest year over year increases were San Francisco at 9.0 percent, West Palm Beach at 8.1 percent, Cincinnati at 7.8 percent, Milwaukee at 7.4 percent and Pittsburgh at 7.4 percent. The five largest decreases were Austin at 7.1 percent, Seattle at 6.2 percent, Fort Worth at 1.9 percent, San Jose at 1.7 percent and Orlando at 1.4 percent.

These rankings cover the 50 most populous U.S. metros, which is how Redfin builds its metro-level tables. West Palm Beach is second in that group of 50. It is not being called the second fastest appreciating market in the country, and the distinction matters because the 50 most populous metros leave out several hundred smaller markets.

West Palm Beach was also at the top of this list a week earlier, at 10.2 percent for the four weeks ending August 27. The pace has come off about two points between the two windows. Two consecutive readings are two readings, and this desk is not calling that a trend.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Jacksonville are all among the 50 most populous metros and appeared on neither list this week. Nothing can be inferred about their price changes from their absence, because a metro is left off simply by not being in the top five or bottom five.

What is happening to supply nationally?

More homes are coming to market and fewer are going under contract. New listings rose 8 percent from a year earlier to 383,795, which Redfin describes as the highest level since August 2022, and rose 2.1 percent from the prior week. Active listings totaled 1,511,313, up 2.4 percent.

Months of supply rose to 4.0 from 3.7. Pending sales fell 0.1 percent week over week and 2.5 percent from a year earlier, which Redfin notes is the lowest level since February.

The negotiating measures moved slightly in sellers' favor even so. The sale-to-list ratio was 98.7 percent against 98.5 percent a year earlier, and 25.9 percent of homes sold above asking price against 25 percent. The share of listings with a price drop rose to 20.9 percent from 20.2 percent. Median days on market held at 45.

What were mortgage rates doing that week?

Redfin's daily 30-year fixed rate reached 6.91 percent on September 2, which the company describes as its highest level in over a year, against 6.5 percent a year earlier. Freddie Mac's weekly average for the week ending August 27 was 6.66 percent.

Those are two different measurements. Redfin's daily series and Freddie Mac's weekly survey use different methodologies and different samples, and they should not be read as one line.

Demand signals were mixed underneath the rate. Mortgage purchase applications rose 2 percent week over week and were down 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Google searches for "homes for sale" were down 13 percent from a month earlier and 6 percent from a year earlier. Redfin's home touring index was up 7 percent from the start of the year, against an increase of 22 percent at the same point last year.

What does this mean for Florida?

Florida shows up at both ends of this week's table, which is the most useful thing in it. West Palm Beach is near the top on price and Orlando is near the bottom, in the same state, in the same four-week window.

That gap is a reminder that Florida is not one market. Palm Beach County's price behavior has been running with the strongest metros in the country while Central Florida has been correcting, and a statewide average would hide both.

For a seller in West Palm Beach, the national picture of rising inventory and falling pending sales has not yet reached the local price line. For a buyer in Orlando, a market with falling prices and a national supply picture that keeps loosening is a better position than it was a year ago, even at a 6.91 percent daily rate.

Market-level detail for each of these sits on the West Palm Beach and Orlando hubs, alongside Miami and Tampa.

Limitations

Redfin's metro-level rankings cover the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas, and Redfin notes that select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. A metro's absence from a list means only that it was not in the top five or bottom five, not that its prices were flat.

These are four-week rolling figures ending August 30, 2026, based on Redfin's analysis of MLS data, and they are subject to revision. Weekly data is more volatile than monthly data and a single window should not be read as a trend.

Redfin's median asking price series is excluded from this article. Readings for this window and the following week are not consistent with one another on their face, one reported as a small year over year decline and the other as a small increase on a seasonally adjusted basis, so neither is used here.

The 6.91 percent daily rate is Redfin's own mortgage rate series. It is not Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey average and the two are not interchangeable.

Redfin's price measure covers closed sales in its coverage areas and is a different measurement from Florida Realtors' closed median, Zillow's home value index and Realtor.com's asking prices. The four series are built differently and will not agree.

No named Redfin economist is quoted in this week's release; the commentary in it is attributed to Redfin agents.

Sources

Redfin, weekly housing market data, four weeks ending August 30, 2026, published September 3, 2026, redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-new-listings-4-year-high/.

Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending August 27, 2026, freddiemac.com/pmms.

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.