New Home Listings Post Larger Decline in Week Ending May 31

Seattle, WA, June 4, 2026—New listings of U.S. homes for sale are down 1.3% week over week, one of the biggest declines of the year, says Redfin.

Prospective home sellers are backing off because homebuying demand has slowed down. Pending home sales ticked down 0.2% week over week during the week ending May 31–a small decline, but the third in a row. Mortgage-purchase applications fell to their lowest level in six weeks. 

There are a couple reasons house hunters–and, by extension, would-be sellers–are stepping back:

• Housing costs are high and getting higher. The weekly average mortgage rate rose to 6.53%, its highest level since August. Despite rising rates and slowing demand, sale prices just keep rising: The typical sale price is up 2.3% year over year. Those two factors have pushed the typical monthly housing payment to $2,623, near its highest level in 11 months. 
• The economy feels shaky. Consumer confidence dropped to an all-time low last week, due partly to rising food and gas prices. The ongoing Iran war and inflation fears are exacerbating financial jitters. Many Americans aren’t able to–or don’t want to–buy a home when the cost of everything else is rising.

“While this isn’t a market where sellers can count on bidding wars, there are always some people out there who need to move,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research. “The market has been tilted in buyer’s favor for many months, but their advantage started to shrink last month. With new supply declining now, people who are serious about selling their home may want to jump in while there’s at least slightly less competition from other sellers.”