Home sales are up and down so far in housing market's busiest season
Home sales are up and down so far in housing market's busiest season
Claire BostonThu, April 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM UTC
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Not long after Zillow reported signs of life in the housing market last month, Redfin is seeing indications that the Iran war is chilling transactions.
The brokerage said in a report on Thursday that contract signings were down 2.4% year over year in the four weeks through April 5, the worst decline in three months. New listings were down 2.6% in the same period.
Easter weekend likely had some impact on the results, as did rising mortgage rates stemming from the Iran war and inflation worries.
At the start of 2026, home sales showed signs of improvement after three consecutive years of record-low sales. Easing mortgage rates and slowing home price appreciation were expected to bring more buyers and sellers off the sidelines during the traditionally busy spring homebuying season. Mortgage rates fell below 6% in late February, but the breakthrough was short-lived — rates quickly moved back up when the war broke out.
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But there's still some hope for spring: This week's ceasefire agreement could help bring mortgage rates back toward the low-6% area from their current levels around 6.4%, Redfin's report said.
Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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