10 things to know about the property market: October 2025

IRVINE, Calif., October 30, 2025 — Cotality, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, released its latest list on the 10 things to know about the property market for October 2025.

The U.S. housing market is a mixed picture. Inventory this month rose to the highest level since 2019. Prices are softening. New listings are lagging. And regional market differences are stark.  

One trend does hold true across the country though: home price growth has slowed. In many metros this September, the Cotality HPI recorded declines for the first time. Amid falling prices, there has been a rise in serious mortgage delinquencies in some states like Florida. However, most homeowners remain protected by a cushion of home equity.

These market conditions are incentivizing investors who now account for a significant share of single-family home purchases. Investors are capitalizing on strong rental demand even though single-family rent growth has fallen to its lowest level in over 15 years.

U.S. Housing Market Trends

1. In October, mortgage rates hit the lowest point in the last 12 months. This month’s rates declined further from September’s reduction, which has contributed to increased refinancing and home purchase activity. Pending home sales rose 10% above 2024 levels. However, the total number of active for-sale homes has slowed, and newly listed properties are down 3% compared to last September. Overall, while housing market activity is gradually recovering, continued inventory growth will be essential for supporting home sales in 2026.

2. Home price growth fell 0.5% from May to August according to the Cotality Home Price Index. Despite the national decline, 45 of the top 100 markets experienced continued price appreciation during this period. Notably, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the New York metro area, and Lake County, IL saw prices increase about 2% over the summer. In contrast, markets that were already experiencing softening—such as the Florida metros of West Palm Beach and Cape Coral as well as California markets like San Jose and Oakland—continued to face average price declines of around 3% over the three-month period.

3. A rising share of metropolitan areas recorded year-over-year price declines. In September, 20% of the 411 U.S. metropolitan areas saw annual prices decline. This share is up from about 3% at the beginning of 2024 but close to the 17% of metro areas that recorded declines in June 2023 when surging mortgage rates significantly cooled home prices.

4. Annual single-family rent growth fell to its lowest level in more than 15 years this August, according to Cotality’s Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI). Growth slowed across many major metropolitan areas, with 38 of the 50 largest U.S. metros reporting lower year-over-year rent increases in August 2025 compared with August 2024.

5. Florida metro areas experienced the most significant declines in the annual SFRI, representing six of the 10 largest decreases. Orlando led with a 5.6% year-over-year drop, followed by Cape Coral (-4%), Lakeland (-2%), and Port St. Lucie (-1.9%). Arizona and Texas each had two metro areas ranked among the bottom 10.

6. Among the 20 metros tracked by the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller 20-City Index, Chicago was the only one to record monthly price appreciation in August. Home prices in Chicago rose by 0.3%, outpacing the next closest city, Cleveland, which saw a 0.1% decline. Chicago’s relative affordability has helped sustain demand and shield it from the broader trend of price declines. However, other Midwestern cities like Detroit and Minneapolis shifted from price gains to price losses in August, which is an indication that Chicago may soon follow suit.

7. Investors accounted for 30% of single-family home purchases in Q3 2025. Buyers continue to struggle to meet sellers’ price expectations, which is contributing to rising inventory levels and longer periods spent on the market. These conditions are fueling strong rental demand and incentivizing investors to capitalize on potential bargains from motivated sellers by acquiring homes.

U.S. Mortgage Market Trends

8. Florida saw the largest annual increase in serious mortgage delinquencies, and as of August 2025, ranks third in the nation for loans overdue by 90 days or more. The Florida metro of Lakeland-Winter Haven had the highest serious mortgage delinquency rate of 2% (a 44-basis point rise from last year), followed by Sebring-Avon Park (1.51%), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (1.49%), and Port St. Lucie (1.49%). The Villages (0.36%) and Naples-Marco Island (0.58%) had the lowest delinquency rates in the state. Statewide, the rate for serious mortgage delinquencies was 1.31%, while the national average stood at 0.93%.  

9. Americans are still packing up and moving out of state, but it’s less frequent. Out-of-state loan applications have declined, but when Americans do move out of state, it is generally from high-cost states to more affordable regions. California, New York, and Massachusetts continue to lose more residents than they gain, while affordable states like South Carolina and Florida attracted more residents than they lost. Still, even in low-cost states, the number of incoming buyers is lower than in previous years. Out-of-state migration peaked in 2022, but by this year, that share dropped to only 15% of all U.S. homebuyers. This suggests that economic uncertainty, tighter lending criteria, and local market changes are putting the brakes on interstate relocations.  

10. Tappable home equity among U.S. borrowers currently stands at $11.2 trillion. On average, homeowners have just under $200,000 available to them through a home equity line of credit, home equity loan, or cash-out refinance before exceeding an 80% loan-to-value ratio. This substantial equity cushion not only helps protect homeowners from rising housing costs but also supports them in managing other debts, such as credit cards, student loans, and auto loans.

Share of markets with annual price declines climbing

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Data source: Cotality HPI, through September 2025 (metropolitan areas only)

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About Cotality

Cotality accelerates data, insights, and workflows across the property ecosystem to enable industry professionals to surpass their ambitions and impact society. With billions of real-time data signals across the life cycle of a property, we unearth hidden risks and transformative opportunities for agents, lenders, carriers, and innovators. Get to know us at www.cotality.com.  

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Cotality

Newsmedia@cotality.com