August 2026 is a special month for a strange reason: in an industry that constantly changes, the median sales price stayed at $325,000 for the third straight month. To quote CCAR’s CEO, Laura Crowther, our market is stabilizing.

Does that mean everything stayed the same? Not at all!

After reaching a high of 2,703 new listings in March, each subsequent month saw fewer and fewer properties added to the market. That slide ended in July with a low of 2,107 new listings. In August, we saw a small uptick for the first time since spring, with 2,152 new listings added to the inventory.

Interestingly, the new inventory was met with an uptick in pending sales, while our months’ supply of inventory went down last month. Months’ supply is a statistic that REALTORS use because it measures both sides of the supply and demand equation. It’s calculated by taking the number of properties currently for sale, or supply, and comparing it with how many properties sold last month, or demand. The result tells us approximately how many months it would take to sell the current inventory at the recent sales pace.

With 5.2 months of inventory, we’re still technically in a seller’s market…but I disagree. I think the existing inventory has been picked over by buyers, with lots of properties languishing on the market. Homes priced at market value and in the right condition will sell in a timely fashion.

Seller motivation can be seen in an important metric Adrianne and I track every month: the number of listings that failed to sell. August had the highest number of withdrawn and expired listings so far this year, with 877. That’s a 12% increase from July, which was the highest month…and June was the highest before that…and May was the highest before that.

There’s a trend. More and more listings are failing to sell.

I predict September will have the highest number of withdrawn and expired properties for the year. In September, many of the sellers who entered the market with unrealistic expectations in March will face the reality that, after being on the market for six months, not a single buyer was willing to offer them their price.

To give you some perspective, there were 4,245 withdrawn and expired listings in all of 2021. We exceeded that total by June of this year.

Buyers and sellers, this is a Public Service Announcement: Market value is ultimately where a willing seller and a willing buyer agree. If a seller is not willing to come down and a buyer is not willing to come up, then market value is never realized.

And that’s okay sometimes.

Other times, if you need to sell…you should drop your price. If you need to buy, you may need to adjust your expectations or your price point.

No amount of negotiation can overcome an unmotivated seller with a 2.75% interest rate who doesn’t need to move. No amount of marketing and advertising can convince a buyer to pay a price they are unwilling to (or can’t) pay.

Does this mean no one is buying real estate? Quite the opposite. We’re the fastest growing county in the fastest growing state in America. There are many advantages for both buyers and sellers in today’s market. We’d love to help you find the advantages that apply to your situation.

Please let us know if you’d like to set up a hassle free consultation so we can learn more about you, your goals, and your situation. We’d love to help!