Housing Market
242 Cities Now Have Million-Dollar Starter Homes
Zillow analysis finds a record 242 U.S. cities now have starter homes valued at $1 million or more, nearly triple the count from before the pandemic.
June 18, 2026
Zillow analysis finds a record 242 U.S. cities now have starter homes valued at $1 million or more, nearly triple the count from before the pandemic.
Oxford Economics projects housing affordability won’t meaningfully recover for 7 years. Here’s the script real estate agents need when buyers say “I’ll just wait.”
A new NAR and Realtor.com report finds middle-income households can access only 23% of listings nationwide, and the U.S. needs 311,000 more homes priced under $261,000 to close the gap.
NAR’s Q1 2026 home price report shows prices rose in 71% of metro areas, with affordability improving for both repeat and first-time buyers.
President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union highlighted falling mortgage costs and a call to ban large investors from buying homes, with key housing takeaways unpacked
Zillow reports buying power jumped $30,302 year over year, lifting the median affordable home price to $331,483 as rates fell to 6.1%.
Realtor.com® reports inventory up 142.1% since 2022, rates peaked at 7.79%, yet median list prices remain 8.1% higher as delistings surge.
Doomer housing charts don’t tell the full story. Here are seven data points showing how affordability is slowly improving for buyers and renters heading in 2026.
Fewer buyers are paying all cash and down payments are shrinking, according to new Redfin reports. Here’s what the data shows.
Redfin reports buyers must earn $111,252, about $35,000 more than renters, a 46.3% gap that’s the smallest in 3 years as affordability improves.
Intercontinental Exchange reports January affordability hit a four-year high as payments fell $164 year over year to $2,091 and income share dropped to 27.8%
NAR’s national poll finds 78% say it’s a bad time to buy, 85% still believe in the dream, and 64% back proposals like capital gains relief.
For daily real estate news, business and marketing.
