Days to pending, the time from listing to accepted offer, stretched to a median of 25 days in July 2026, one day longer than in June, according to Zillow [1]. The Zillow market heat index carried on DataPorium fell to 52 in July from 53 in June and a 2026 peak of 57 in April, a reading close to the neutral point between buyers and sellers [2]. Homes still sell in under a month, but the pace is far slower than the 8 to 12 days of 2021 through 2023 and is now back to where it was in the summer of 2019 [2].
How fast homes sell now: days to pending in July 2026
Zillow's July report shows a market that is busy but no longer urgent. Sales rose 7% from a year earlier to 382,898, the strongest annual gain of 2026, yet the median listing took 25 days to go pending and 27.1% of listings had a price cut [1]. Only 30.8% of homes sold above their list price, almost unchanged from 30.9% a year earlier [1]. The National Association of Realtors' separate measure, days on market through closing, was 29 days in July, up from 28 a year earlier [3].
The longer-run series from DataPorium puts the current pace in context. The median days to pending in July of each year were 22 in 2018, 24 in 2019, 14 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 18 in 2024, 24 in 2025 and 25 in 2026 [2]. The market has, in effect, normalized to its pre-2020 speed. Within the year the pace follows the season: 47 days in January 2026, 17 days in April, 20 in June and 25 in July [2].
The market heat index: from 88 to 52
Zillow's market heat index combines the speed of sales, the share of listings with price cuts, the share sold above list and related measures into a single number where readings near 50 indicate balance between buyers and sellers and higher readings favor sellers. DataPorium carries the monthly series for the United States and for each metro [2].
| Month | U.S. market heat index |
|---|---|
| July 2018 | 53 |
| July 2019 | 55 |
| July 2021 | 75 |
| February 2022 (peak) | 88 |
| July 2022 | 64 |
| July 2023 | 66 |
| July 2024 | 57 |
| July 2025 | 53 |
| April 2026 (2026 peak) | 57 |
| July 2026 | 52 |
The index peaked at 88 in February 2022, when the median home went pending in about a week, and has drifted down for four years [2]. The lowest reading in the series is 48, recorded in November 2018, so July's 52 is within a few points of the coolest market of the last eight years [2].
What the index measures and what it does not
The heat index describes competition among buyers for the homes that are listed. It says nothing about the number of transactions. That distinction explains an apparent contradiction in July: sales were up 7% while the index fell [1][2]. More homes changed hands because more were listed and rates were lower than in 2025, but each listing faced less competition. Readers can compare the index across metros on DataPorium's housing market page.
Newly pending listings point to a slower second half
The best short-term indicator is the count of newly pending listings, which leads closed sales by four to eight weeks. In July that count was only 0.3% above a year earlier and 7.7% below June [1]. Mortgage rates explain the timing: the 30-year rate rose from 6.43% in early July to 6.67% in the week of August 13, 2026, and buyers who signed contracts in June locked in at the lower level [4]. New listings totaled 387,203 in July, 3.1% above a year earlier, so supply kept coming while demand paused [1].
Homes went pending in 25 days and the heat index sat at 52 in July 2026, a balanced market moving at its 2019 speed.
Where homes sell fastest and slowest
Zillow's metro table for July shows large differences in sales momentum from a year earlier [1]:
- Strongest sales growth: Salt Lake City +19.9%, Austin +19.7%, Columbus +18.2%, Miami +15.8%, Milwaukee +15.7%, Minneapolis +14.0%
- Weakest: Seattle -4.4%, Detroit -2.7%, Providence -1.5%, New York -0.8%, St. Louis -0.6%
The fastest-growing sales counts are in metros where prices fell over the past year (Austin -4.5%, Miami -0.2%), which means lower prices are doing what lower rates have not: bringing buyers back. The metros with shrinking sales are mostly high-priced Northeast markets where values are still rising (New York +4.6%, Providence +3.6%) and inventory is thin [1]. From a market-oriented view, this is the adjustment working as it should: where sellers accept lower prices, volume returns. Investors may consider that a rising heat index in a metro that has already repriced is a better entry signal than a still-high index in a metro where prices have not yet adjusted.
Key takeaways
- The median home took 25 days to go pending in July 2026, one day longer than in June and about the same as July 2019 [1][2].
- The U.S. market heat index was 52 in July, down from a 2026 peak of 57 in April and a record 88 in February 2022 [2].
- Sales rose 7% year over year in July, but newly pending listings were only 0.3% higher, pointing to a slower second half [1].
- Only 30.8% of homes sold above list price and 27.1% of listings had a price cut [1].
- Mortgage rates climbed to 6.67% by August 13, 2026, from 6.43% in early July [4].
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to sell a house in 2026?
The median listing went pending in 25 days in July 2026 according to Zillow, and NAR reports a median of 29 days on market through closing; both are about a day longer than a year earlier [1][3].
What is the Zillow market heat index and what does it show now?
It is a 0 to 100 gauge of buyer competition that combines sales speed, price cuts and sale-to-list data. The U.S. reading was 52 in July 2026, near neutral, down from 88 at the February 2022 peak [2].
Is the housing market a buyer's or seller's market in summer 2026?
It is close to balanced. A heat index of 52, 25 days to pending and 27.1% of listings with price cuts give buyers more leverage than at any time since 2019, but not a clear buyer's market [1][2].
Which cities have the fastest home sales growth in 2026?
In July 2026, sales counts rose fastest in Salt Lake City (+19.9%), Austin (+19.7%) and Columbus (+18.2%), while Seattle (-4.4%) and Detroit (-2.7%) saw declines [1].
Sources & References
- [1] Zillow July 2026 Market Report (press release, August 6, 2026)
- [2] DataPorium Housing Market Insights (Zillow-based data by state, metro, city and ZIP)
- [3] NAR Existing-Home Sales Report for July 2026 (August 11, 2026)
- [4] FRED: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States (Freddie Mac PMMS)
