Housing Inventory Hits Highest Level Since 2019
National housing supply is loosening at a pace not seen in years, even as buyer activity softens under stubbornly high mortgage rates. Inventory nationwide climbed to its highest level since 2019 in August, giving shoppers more room to negotiate, while California’s regional markets are telling a more mixed story. Orange County inventory has now retreated for five straight weeks as rate-locked owners stay put, Sacramento’s single-family segment holds steady even as condos slide, and Marin listings are up sharply. Meanwhile, a jump in oil prices and Treasury yields pushed mortgage rates higher again this week, with the Fed’s September meeting looming as the next catalyst.
In The News:
NAR — NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 2.0% Decrease in August (September 10, 2026) — Existing-home sales slipped 2.0% in August to a 3.98 million annual pace, but inventory rose to 1.62 million units, the first time supply has topped 1.6 million since November 2019. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun pointed to elevated mortgage rates as the drag on activity. Sales in the West held flat month over month, and regional affordability improved nearly 6% year over year even as prices ticked up nationally.
The Mortgage Reports — Mortgage Rates Face Upward Pressure (September 10, 2026) — The average 30-year fixed rate jumped to 6.851% as the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.879%, pulled higher by a surge in oil prices and a wobblier stock market. Analysts pointed to intraday volatility ahead of upcoming jobless claims, producer price, and existing-home sales data as reasons rates could keep swinging before settling into a clearer trend.
OC Real Estate Inc — OC Housing Market Report: September 2026 (September 7, 2026) — Orange County active listings fell to 4,984, the fifth straight weekly decline after peaking near 5,200 in early August. The pullback runs counter to rising national inventory and reflects the region’s rate-lock effect, where homeowners sitting on sub-6% mortgages have little incentive to sell. Median closed price for single-family homes held at $1.46 million with homes taking a median 46 days to sell.
Prism Group — September 2026 Sacramento County Market Outlook (September 10, 2026) — Sacramento County single-family closings fell 8% year over year to 894 homes in August, though the median price held essentially flat at $549,950 and 35% of sales closed above list. The condo market told a starker story, with closings down 42% and the median price off 18% to $265,000, as months of supply in that segment roughly doubled.
DiVita Home Finance — Marin County Mortgage & Market Update (September 9, 2026) — Brent crude’s surge past $100 a barrel for the first time since July is feeding inflation worries and pushing mortgage rates toward 6.8%, with Fed funds futures now leaning toward a rate hike rather than a cut at next week’s meeting. Marin County listings climbed 24% year over year to 486 homes, even as the median sold price rose 2% to roughly $1.395 million.
