Pending Sales Hit 5-Month Low As Rates Near 7%
California's housing market entered August with buyers hesitating rather than disappearing. Contract signings pulled back sharply in the first week of the month as the 30-year fixed pushed toward 7%, the highest reading in nearly a year, and mortgage applications slipped again. The underlying setup, though, is more balanced than the headline numbers suggest: supply now sits near three and a half months, sellers are conceding on price and repairs, and a surprisingly weak July jobs report has revived expectations that rate pressure could ease into the fall. For patient California buyers and investors, negotiating leverage is the best it has been all year.
In The News:
Redfin — Pending Home Sales Sink to 5-Month Low As Mortgage Rates Rise (August 6, 2026) — Homes going under contract fell 3.7% week over week, the steepest drop since 2022 and the lowest level in more than five months, as the daily 30-year rate hit 6.82% on August 3. The national median sale price still rose 2.9% year over year to $406,362, but San Jose posted the largest metro decline at 4.2% and Los Angeles slipped 0.8%.
Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 6.69% (August 6, 2026) — The 30-year fixed averaged 6.69% for the week, up from 6.66% and above the 6.63% recorded a year earlier, while the 15-year eased to 6.01%. Chief economist Sam Khater described a market in adjustment, with listing prices modestly below year-ago levels and for-sale inventory improving from the constrained supply of recent years.
Redfin — Weak July Jobs Report Could Delay Fed Rate Hike, Giving Homebuyers Some Mortgage-Rate Relief (August 7, 2026) — The economy shed 23,000 jobs in July against forecasts for an 80,000 gain, with prior months revised down by 103,000 and the three-month average of job creation falling to 20,000. Unemployment ticked down to 4.1% only because workers left the labor force. Softer data lowers the odds of a Fed hike at the September 16 meeting.
Mortgage Bankers Association — Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey (August 5, 2026) — Total application volume fell 2.9% for the week ending July 31, with purchase applications down 4% and refinances off 2% and running 9% below last year. The average contract rate on 30-year conforming loans climbed to 6.81% from 6.76%, and refinances rose to 39.9% of all activity.
Redfin — Slow Summer Housing Market Gives Buyers More Time, Choices and Negotiating Power (August 6, 2026) — San Diego is splitting in two. Move-in-ready single-family homes in desirable coastal neighborhoods still draw multiple offers, while condos linger on the market and prices drift, giving buyers real room to negotiate. Local agents report sellers covering deferred maintenance and accepting offers close to list rather than well above it.
