Sellers Do What No One Expects | Dec. 2025 Housing Market Update

What It Covers

December 2025 housing market analysis reveals home prices up 1.4% year-over-year, mortgage rates down to 6.25% from 7.25%, affordability at best level in two and a half years, and inventory stabilizing after earlier concerns.

Key Questions Answered

• •Refinancing opportunity: Mortgage rates dropped one full percentage point from 7.25% to 6.25% over 2025, making refinancing worthwhile for mortgages with rates above 7% as 3.1 million homeowners can now reduce rates by 75 basis points or more, saving hundreds monthly.
• •Regional price corrections: 105 of the top 300 metro markets show declining prices, with 12 of the 14 biggest corrections concentrated in Florida and Gulf Coast regions. Punta Gorda down 13%, Cape Coral down 10%, while Midwest markets maintain 2-3% appreciation.
• •Delisting trend: Sellers increasingly remove properties from market without selling, reaching highest delisting rates since 2017. Only 20% of delisted properties return to market, preventing inventory surge and supporting price stability rather than panic selling that would indicate a crash scenario.
• •Market stress levels: 900,000 mortgages now underwater representing 1.5% of mortgage holders, but delinquency rates remain below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Foreclosure starts down 10% year-over-year, indicating no systemic distress despite correction in certain markets.