As usual, the housing market varies widely depending on where you live.

But two broad trends stand out:

According to The Daily Upside, one indicator of future sales suggests “buyers are coming out with cautious optimism,” raising the possibility that activity could pick up in the coming months.

After briefly nearing 6%, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed back above 6.5% in mid-May, remaining near its highest levels in roughly two decades.

Meanwhile, the U.S. homeownership rate sits at about 65%, around a six-year low, and is expected to decline further this year. Home prices could continue outpacing wage growth unless the supply of homes for sale increases meaningfully.

Pending home sales in April rose 3.2% year-over-year and 1.4% from March. Regionally, activity varied sharply: Contracts jumped 6.6% in the Northeast but slipped 0.7% in the South.

Meanwhile, markets such as Miami, Nashville, Austin and Las Vegas, which boomed during the pandemic as remote workers relocated, have shifted into buyers’ markets, with sellers now outnumbering buyers by more than two to one.

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