The real estate market is challenging for buyers and sellers alike. With national average prices essentially flat in 2025, according to Zillow Research, sellers are disappointed to find they don’t have the advantages afforded to them during the pandemic.
But those steady prices don’t help buyers who are already priced out of the market. Add that uncertainty about mortgage rates, and you have a perfect recipe for stagnation. But real estate markets are cyclical, so what’s true in October 2025 might not be true in the new year.
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Nearly halfway into the fourth quarter of the 2025, real estate market analyses and forecasts are starting to trickle in. Find out where experts think the housing market is headed in 2026.
Home Prices
Zillow Research expects home values to remain unchanged through January and grow slowly after that, reaching peak growth of nearly 1.9% in August.
Economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association expect several quarters of declining prices over the next few years, according to Realtor.com coverage of the MBA’s annual conference in October. It doesn’t expect prices to increase nationally until 2028.
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Mortgage Rates
Fannie Mae expects mortgage rates to drop to 6.4% by the end of this year, and gradually fall to 5.9% by the end of 2026. However, that estimate could be optimistic.
The October forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association also calls for an eventual rate drop, but not until 2027, and even then by just 0.1%, to 6.3% from 6.4% in 2025 and 2026.
Home Sales
Sales are unlikely to move much before the end of the year, but Zillow Research said inventory is poised to outpace sales, which would give buyers more choice next year.
Fannie Mae has a relatively rosy outlook on 2026 home sales. Although it has scaled back its September forecast, it still predicts year-over-year increases for each quarter of 2026, for a total increase of 8.9% by the end of the year.
The National Association of Realtors predicates its home sales forecast on mortgage rates dropping to 6%. In an interview with Newsweek, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research for NAR, said that at that level, 5.5 million more households would become affordable to buy.
Even the Mortgage Bankers Association expects to see sales increase next year despite stubbornly high interest rates. It predicts 5 million new and existing home sales for 2026 versus 4.8 million for 2025, according to the Realtor.com coverage.
Should You Buy Now, or Wait Until 2026?
As you can see, leading experts disagree on many aspects of what the 2026 housing market might bring. And any change in market conditions invalidates the forecasts, which is why organizations like Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association release new forecasts every month.
Most buyers are best off using predictions to learn about the market, not try to time it. In the end, the best time to buy or sell is when you’re financially and emotionally ready to make the move.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Experts Predict Where the Housing Market Is Headed in 2026
