More sellers are cutting prices than at any point in four years. 20.8% of for-sale listings had a price reduction in September, the highest monthly share since October 2022, according to Realtor.com, as mortgage rates climbed back above 7%. For landlords, a stalled for-sale market changes three things at once: how long renters stay, how many homes compete with your rentals, and what it costs to buy or sell a rental property.
What happened
Realtor.com's September report describes a market losing buyers. Active listings topped 1.16 million, 43 of the 50 largest metros posted year-over-year inventory gains, and the stock of homes under contract fell 4.1% from a year earlier. National inventory now sits 9.1% below pre-pandemic norms, the narrowest gap since the pandemic.
The driver is rates. Realtor.com says mortgage rates rose nearly 40 basis points in September and climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. The report estimates the move from 6.66% in late August to 7.03% on September 24 knocked roughly $11,500 off the buying power of a shopper on a fixed budget.
Sellers are mostly cutting rather than quitting. The median list price was $419,250, down 1.4% year over year, and only about 5.6% of homes on the market were delisted in September, in line with last year. Inventory is growing because fewer homes are going under contract, not because a wave of new listings arrived: new listings were 395,000, down 0.7% year over year.
The softness is uneven. The sharpest inventory increases were Minneapolis (+31.2%), Seattle (+28.5%) and Buffalo (+28.0%), while Jacksonville, Miami and San Francisco posted the steepest declines. Price cuts were most common in Salt Lake City (33.3%), Denver (31.5%) and Portland (31.3%). In Seattle, Realtor.com reported pending sales down more than 12% from a year ago, and one local broker listed landlords selling previously held rental properties among the reasons inventory is rising there.
On the rental side, rents are not rising either. Realtor.com's latest rental report put the median asking rent for 0–2 bedroom units in the 50 largest metros at $1,699 in August, down 0.9% year over year, the 37th straight annual decline.
Why it matters for property managers
Fewer move-outs to buy, but no pricing power to match. When would-be buyers stall, some of them stay renters longer. Realtor.com economist Hannah Jones said climbing rates have sent some individual buyers to the sidelines. That can help retention. It does not mean renewals can rise faster: with asking rents down 0.9% nationally, a resident who cannot buy can still move to a cheaper rental. Treat lower move-out risk as a reason to protect occupancy, not as room to push rate.
Unsold homes can turn into rental competition. This part is our read, not a Realtor.com finding: a seller who cannot get their price and does not need to sell may rent the home instead. Realtor.com's data show delistings flat so far, so this is a risk to watch rather than a trend in the numbers. If you run single-family rentals in a metro where inventory is jumping, check your rental listing comps more often this fall.
Buying is cheaper to negotiate, and big investors are back. Price cuts and longer marketing times favor buyers with cash or committed financing. Cotality found that investors owning 1,000 or more homes accounted for 2.2% of single-family home purchases in August, up from a low of 1.4% in February. Realtor.com noted it is not yet clear whether large investors are buying more homes or simply taking a bigger share of a shrinking market. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which became law in July, targets investors that own more than 350 properties, and the rules that carry out its limits are still being written, so confirm with counsel before assuming how they apply to your portfolio.
Selling a rental takes more patience. If a disposition is on your 2026 or early-2027 plan, the September data point to more competition from other listings and buyers who expect discounts. Build in time and a realistic price, and check whether keeping the property rented until spring makes more sense than selling into a slow market.
New single-family rental supply is slowing. NAHB estimated about 15,000 single-family built-for-rent starts in the second quarter of 2026, down from 18,000 a year earlier. Fewer new build-to-rent homes over the next year or two would, in our view, ease one source of competition for existing single-family rentals.
What to do this week
- Pull your notices to vacate from the last 90 days. Tag move-outs by reason. If "bought a home" is shrinking as a share, your renewal conversion may hold up better than last fall's, so price renewals to keep good residents.
- Re-run single-family comps in metros where for-sale inventory is jumping. Add homes newly listed for rent near your properties, especially ones that recently came off the for-sale market.
- Set a renewal range, not a single number. With national asking rents down 0.9%, keep increases modest and let your own vacancy, delinquency and turn costs set the ceiling.
- If you are buying, ask for more. Price cuts on 20.8% of listings mean many sellers will negotiate on price, repairs or closing costs. Underwrite at today's rates, not hoped-for ones.
- If you are selling, decide now whether to list or renew. Compare the expected sale price and time on market with the cost of one more lease term. Offer the current resident a renewal before you list so you are not carrying a vacant unit.
- Check whether any new investor rules touch you. If your entity, affiliates and partners together own a large number of single-family homes, ask counsel how the new federal limits might apply as the rules are finalized.
What we're watching
- October price cuts. Realtor.com flagged how deep discounts get and whether they turn into signed contracts or just longer listings as the next signal.
- Delistings. A jump would mean more owners pulling homes off the market, and some of those homes may come back as rentals.
- Realtor.com's investor report, which the company says is due later this month, for whether large-investor purchases are rising in number or just in share.
- September rent data. A second month of falling asking rents alongside rising for-sale inventory would point to a softer fall leasing season.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check your state and local rules and talk to counsel before changing lease terms or acquisition plans.