What moved in real estate, Oct 12–18, 2026

Rates: 7.40% again, the highest since November 2023. Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.40% on Thursday, unchanged from the week before. That ends a seven-week climb, but it's still up from 6.27% a year ago. The 15-year slipped to 6.71% from 6.73%. On a $350,000 loan, principal and interest at 7.40% is about $2,423 a month, roughly $264 more than at last year's rate.

Inflation: September CPI came in hot. Prices rose 3.7% from a year ago, up from 3.4% in August, and 0.6% for the month. Core inflation, which leaves out food and energy, was 2.6%. Gasoline was up 34.2% from last year and made up more than half of the monthly jump. First American's Sam Williamson said the report raises the odds of another Fed rate hike in October, and could keep mortgage rates elevated longer.

Redfin: asking prices fell for the first time since March. For the four weeks ending October 11, the median asking price was $396,881, down 0.3% from a year ago. 22% of listings had a price cut, up from 20.9% a year ago. Pending sales were 286,531, down 12.7% from last year. Redfin pegs the monthly payment on the median home at $2,777 at a 7.4% rate, up 8.8% from a year ago.

Existing-home sales ticked up, but from a two-year low. NAR says September sales ran at a 3.99 million annual pace, up 1.5% from August. The median price was $417,500, up 1.3% from last year. Inventory was 1.60 million homes, a 4.8-month supply, and the typical home took 33 days to sell. NAR's Lawrence Yun said rising rates mean fewer buyers can qualify.

Locally, it was a quiet week. I didn't find any new Central Indiana housing data this week, and MIBOR's next report isn't due until November. The latest official numbers are still September's: single-family median price $320,000, up 1.3% from a year ago. The median home took 27 days to sell, up from 20. Active inventory was 7,405 homes, up about 16%, a 2.9-month supply, and pending sales were down 6.8% from last year.