Home prices increased in 71% of the U.S. markets last quarter, down slightly compared to the end of 2025, as the West continued to lag behind.
Median sales prices for existing single-family homes rose in 167 out of the 235 of the metros tracked by the National Association of Realtors®, which released its latest quarterly report on Tuesday. Prices fell in the remaining 68 markets.
For comparison, in the fourth quarter of last year, 73% of the metros analyzed by NAR saw price gains.
From January through March 2026, 7% of metros (16 out of 235) recorded double-digit price increases, up from 5% last quarter.
“Home prices continued to increase in many markets, boosting housing wealth for most homeowners,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Gains were particularly solid across metro areas in the Northeast, where inventory shortages persist, and in the Midwest, where home prices remain relatively affordable. However, the expensive West region did not see an increase in sales.”
The national median single-family existing-home price edged up 0.5% year over year to $404,300, down from 1.2% annual growth in the last quarter.
At the regional level, inventory-starved Northeast saw the biggest annual increase, with the median home price rising 4.9%. The Midwest came in second place with a 3.6% increase, followed by the South, which recorded a slight uptick of just 0.2%.
Meanwhile, existing home prices in the West dropped 2.9% compared to a year ago, settling at $607,600.
Akron, OH, experienced the steepest existing home price increase, at 12%, followed by Anchorage, AK (10.4%), and Albany, NY (9.3%).
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Snejana Farberov is a reporter at Realtor.com covering the U.S. housing market and the latest domestic real estate trends. She has worked as a general assignment journalist in New York City and Long Island for 16 years, writing for New York Post, Daily Mail, and News 12. Snejana earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Italian from St. John’s University, followed by a master’s degree from Columbia University School of Journalism.
