This Winter 2026 edition of the Home Sellers Guide seasonal series, includes many tips such as Housing Market Forecasts for 2026, Why More Homeowners Are Giving Up Their Low Mortgage Rate, How Home Equity May Help You Buy Your Next Home in Cash, A Checklist for Selling Your House, and much more.
What is inside the Home Sellers Guide Winter 2026
HOUSING MARKET FORECASTS FOR 2026
After a couple of years where the housing market felt stuck in neutral, 2026 may be the year things shift back into gear. Expert forecasts show more people are expected to move – and that could open the door for you to do the same.
- More Homes Will Sell
- Mortgage Rates Could Continue To Ease
- Home Price Growth Will Be Moderate
With all of the affordability challenges at play over the past few years, many would-be movers pressed pause. But that pause button isn’t going to last forever. There are always people who need to move. And experts think more of them will start to act in 2026 (see graph below):
The #1 thing just about everyone has been looking for is lower mortgage rates. And after peaking around 7% in early 2025, rates have been trending down overall. The latest forecasts show that could continue throughout 2026, but experts aren’t expecting a big change (see graph below):
What about prices? On a national scale, forecasts say they’re going to rise, just not by a lot. With rates down from their peak in early 2025, more buyers will re-enter the market. And that increased demand will keep some upward pressure on prices – and prevent prices from tumbling down.
Of course, price trends will depend on where you are and what’s happening in your local market. Inventory is a big driver in why some places are going to see varying levels of appreciation going forward. But experts agree we’ll see prices grow at the national level (see graph below):
What’s behind the change? Two key factors: mortgage rates and home prices. Let’s dive into the latest expert forecasts for both, so you can see why more people are expected to move.
WHY MORE HOMEOWNERS ARE GIVING UP THEIR LOW MORTGAGE RATE
Many homeowners have been frozen in place by something experts call the lock-in effect. That’s when you won’t move because you don’t want to take on a higher rate on your next home loan. But new data from Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shows the lock-in effect is beginning to ease for some people.
The share of homeowners with a mortgage rate below 3% is slowly declining as more people move. And that means the share with a rate above 6% is rising. Some of the people with rates above 6% are first-time buyers, but some are people like you choosing to move:
HOW HOME EQUITY MAY HELP YOU BUY YOUR NEXT HOME IN CASH
Home equity is the difference between how much your house is worth and how much you still owe on your mortgage. For example, if your house is valued at $400,000 and you only owe $200,000 on your mortgage, your equity would be $200,000.
The share of all-cash buyers recently reached a new high. According to an annual report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 26% of buyers were able to buy without a mortgage (see graph below):
A CHECKLIST FOR SELLING YOUR HOUSE
As you get ready to sell your house, add these items to your to-do list. A real estate professional will also provide other helpful tips based on your specific situation.
For more information on how to sell your Vero Beach house in today’s real estate market, get a copy in this FREE Winter 2026 Sellers Guide by completing the form below.
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