The quick read: The median price of an existing home sold in August climbed 6.2% from 2023 to 2026. The late-August mortgage rate moved up and down over that stretch and finished slightly below its 2023 reading. These are August comparisons, not annual averages.
🏠 Home sale prices ↑
U.S. median existing-home sale price, each August
Price axis starts at $400,000 to make the modest changes visible. Read the dollar labels for exact comparisons.
% Mortgage rates ↕
Freddie Mac 30-year fixed weekly survey, last August reading
Rate axis starts at 6.2%. Only four late-August readings are connected; the line does not show what happened between them.
📊 The numbers at a glance
| August | 🏠 Median sale price | ↑ Price vs. prior August | % 30-year rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $404,200 | — | 7.18% |
| 2024 | $416,700 | +$12,500 (+3.1%) | 6.35% |
| 2025 | $422,400 | +$5,700 (+1.4%) | 6.56% |
| 2026 | $429,100 | +$6,700 (+1.6%) | 6.66% |
Year-over-year dollar and percentage changes above are calculated from the displayed prices and rounded to one decimal place. Published source estimates may be revised.
💡 What does this mean for a buyer?
A lower mortgage rate can ease the monthly principal-and-interest payment, but a higher purchase price pushes it the other way. The two charts explain why looking at the rate alone does not tell you what a home will cost.
For a personal comparison, use the actual home price, down payment, loan program, taxes, insurance, HOA dues and quoted rate. The national median is a useful reference point, not a quote for your neighborhood or loan.
❓ Quick questions
Is this the average price of every home in America?
Are these annual mortgage-rate averages?
Did home prices rise 6.2% everywhere?
🔎 Sources and fact-check notes
- NAR residential real estate market snapshot: August 2023 $404,200; August 2024 $416,700.
- NAR August 2026 existing-home sales report: August 2026 $429,100 and revised August 2025 comparison $422,400.
- Freddie Mac 2023 archive · 2024 · 2025 · 2026: final August 30-year fixed weekly readings. The 2026 reading is also in Freddie Mac’s August 27 release.
Prices are nominal and not adjusted for inflation. Mortgage rates and home-sale prices come from separate data series; neither is a direct measure of a buyer’s actual loan terms. The 2023–2024 NAR snapshot and newer NAR release reflect their respective publication vintages.