What moved in real estate, Oct 19–25, 2026

Rates: 7.32%, the first dip after a long climb. Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.32% on Thursday, down from 7.40% the week before and up from 6.19% a year ago. It's the first decline after seven straight increases and one flat week. The 15-year was 6.68%, down from 6.71%. On a $350,000 loan, principal and interest at 7.32% is about $2,404 a month, roughly $263 more than at last year's rate.

Demand: pending sales are the lowest Redfin has on record. For the four weeks ending October 18, Redfin counted 281,749 pending sales, down 14.4% from a year ago and the lowest since its records start in 2021. 21.7% of listings had a price cut, up from 21% a year ago. The median monthly payment was $2,796, up 10.4% from last year and the second highest on record.

Appraisals: new rules start November 2. Appraisers will have to pick property features from dropdown menus instead of writing out descriptions, a change called UAD 3.6. HousingWire reports appraisers are worried that more private listings and removed photos make it harder to verify comps. Some MLSs are limiting public display of sold-listing photos. If you're selling, expect appraisals to lean harder on clean, well-documented listing data.

Fees: a class action over a $650 broker fee. A Pennsylvania buyer sued Keller Williams Elite, saying the brokerage charged a $650 fee at his October 2023 closing and told agents to present it as mandatory. These are allegations, and the brokerage didn't respond to HousingWire's request for comment. The point for you: any buyer-side fee should be explained up front, in writing, before you sign anything.

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.