What To Expect In Real Estate Trends For 2026

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Though it doesn’t feel like it, in a few short weeks we’ll be criticizing a groundhog, watching somebody else’s team play in the Super Bowl, and going all out on the slopes while the getting’s still good. The spring market is not too far behind. In many areas, including our own, it never really went away. Just reduced from a boil to a simmer.

Many experts predict 2026 to be a stronger year for home buyers, so the early months present an ideal time to develop a strategy with an experienced real estate professional.

At the end of 2025, our area saw signs of balancing, and 2026 could provide the plateau that gets many buyers, especially, first time home buyers, into their new home.

“Home price growth will be minimal,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, “roughly 2% to 3%, about the same as overall consumer price inflation.” Yun also anticipates a growth in wages. “It’s a year where people’s income begins to rise a little faster than consumer inflation and home prices—and this is a welcoming development. We want people to have more purchasing power. Home prices are in no danger of any major decline, and even a 3% gain will bring smiles to many homeowners.”

Many of the challenges in recent years for buyers has come from a limited supply. “Even though inventory has increased in most markets, there’s still a structural housing deficit,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders. “The housing stock is not large enough given the size of the population. This housing deficit remains a constraint on affordability. The only way to really solve the housing affordability challenge is to build our way out of it.”

Danielle Hale, chief economist for Redfin, points out the rise in price sensitivity to indicate a balancing market. “In recent data, we’ve noticed that the share of sellers pulling their homes off the market is higher than normal,” she said. “Even then, it’s still only about 6% of listings, so it’s not the norm. What it reflects is a more balanced housing market where not every seller is getting exactly what they want. Some are choosing to come down in price, and others are choosing to walk away and come back at a later date because they have the flexibility.” Hale also suggests that with a combination of price reductions and lower interest rates, the average monthly payment is now believed to decline for the first time since 2020.

With mortgage rates expected in the low-6% range for 2026, the combination of price adjustments and more inventory could be enough to get many first-time homebuyers in on the action. However, Hale also says that middle-income buyers are also feeling the pinch as the percentage of homes they can afford has dropped from 50% to 21% from pre-pandemic levels to now.

At the national level, the Northeast is still in better shape than other parts of the country. According to research from Price Waterhouse, the Northeast ranks second in the country for year-over-year new single family home net sales per community with an average 1% increase, trailing only the Midwest (7%). However, Southern California (-39%), Florida (-29%), and the Southeast (-22%) have seen the largest declines.

What does this mean at the local level?

In Bucks County, home sale prices took a dip in November but returned to average levels with a median price of $510,000 and total of 571 sales in the month, the highest monthly total over the past six months. Homes spent an average of 34 days on the market in December, well above the six-month average of 24. The year-to-year average home sale price rose by 10.8%

Montgomery County saw a steady average of home sale prices, following a second-straight month with a median of $455,000, still slightly below the six-month median of $460,000. Homes spent an average of 30 days on the market in December, up from the six-month average of 24. With 751 total sales in the month, the county also saw a bounce back in overall sales, but not as high as in the late summer months. The year-to-year average home sale price increased by 1.1%.