NY and NJ news · November 5, 2026

Housing market mood: rates easing, but buyers are still waiting

Rates are slipping and supply is up, yet contract signings hit a record low. Here is what buyers, sellers and builders are doing, plus the NYC permit vote.

Pending sales, Sept: -11.3%; vs a year ago, NAR
Purchase applications: -19%; vs a year ago, MBA
Builder confidence: 29; lowest since June 2012, NAHB

Rates are easing

Freddie Mac's weekly average fell two weeks in a row to 7.24% on Oct. 29. The Mortgage Bankers Association's own measure fell for a third week, to 7.3%, after the Federal Reserve held at its October meeting. The two surveys are built differently, so they will not always match. On a $400,000 loan, the drop from 7.40% to 7.24% saves about $44 a month.

Buyers are holding back

Realtor.com reported that contract signings fell to the lowest level on record in September, down 7.3% from August and 11.3% from a year ago. The Northeast held up better than the rest of the country, down 4.2% on the month and 9.4% on the year. Last week, the MBA said purchase applications were 19% below a year ago and refinance activity was 60% lower.

Sellers are not panicking

New listings fell 7.5% from a year ago in October, Realtor.com said, even as total active listings rose 7.4%. Price cuts remain least common in the Northeast, at 16.8% of listings, against 20.5% nationally. Only about 4.4% of listings were pulled from the market. Realtor.com's market clock now reads as a late balanced market leaning toward buyers.

Builders are discounting

The National Association of Home Builders index fell to 29 in October. It said 43% of builders cut prices, by 6% on average, and 65% used sales incentives. If you are looking at new construction, ask about a rate buydown or closing costs as well as the price.

Who is buying

The National Association of Realtors 2026 profile, as reported by HousingWire, shows first time buyers at 22% of the market. The median buyer is 58 and the median first time buyer is 40. Sellers stayed about 12 years, and 30% of repeat buyers paid all cash. So a lot of this market is owners with equity moving on, not just people chasing a lower rate.

NYC votes to simplify building permits

New York City voters approved Question 4 with 68% support, Realtor.com reported. It moves 40 types of permits and approvals from 18 offices into one digital system, required by 2030. This will not change what you pay for a while. The city's median asking rent was $3,785 in October, up 4.5% from a year ago, and the article says a typical 20 unit building takes nearly five years to build, about a year and a half of that on permits.

What to expect

The MBA expects the 30 year rate to stay above 7% through 2027, and Realtor.com's Hannah Jones expects tough affordability through year end. Forecasts miss, so do not build your plan around one. If the payment works today and you plan to stay, the slower market gives you more room to negotiate than you had a year ago.

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Sources

Rates are national averages, not offers. Home values are estimates. Nothing here is financial advice.

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