Homes for sale rose 5% in a month that normally brings a seasonal decline, and fewer homes were under contract than in any October since Realtor.com changed how it counts them in 2023. Here's what that means for sellers and buyers heading into winter.
By BIG Real Estate · Listing data for October 2026; mortgage rates through November 5, 2026
October is usually when Oakland County's housing market starts to wind down. Fewer owners list, some take unsold homes off the market, and the number of homes for sale begins its slide toward the winter low. This October went differently.
Realtor.com's county data, published through the St. Louis Fed's FRED database, counted 3,761 active listings in Oakland County in October 2026. That's up 5.1% from September and 29.4% from October 2025. In the ten years this series covers, the largest previous September-to-October increase was 2.0%, in 2023. In most years listings fell.
The reason is the same one we described after September's numbers, and it has grown stronger. Owners aren't listing more homes. Buyers are signing fewer contracts.
The October numbers
Oakland County, Realtor.com listing data, October 2026 compared with October 2025:
- Active listings: 2,906 → 3,761 (+29.4%)
- New listings: 1,602 → 1,596 (−0.4%)
- Pending listings (under contract): 1,589 → 1,375 (−13.5%)
- Listings with a price cut: 1,284 → 1,596 (+24.3%)
- Median days on market: 37 → 41 (+4 days)
- Median list price: $418,795 → $394,999 (−5.7%)
- Median list price per sq. ft.: $228 → $228 (0%)
Source: Realtor.com via FRED, series ACTLISCOU26125, NEWLISCOU26125, PENLISCOU26125, PRIREDCOU26125, MEDDAYONMAR26125, MEDLISPRI26125 and MEDLISPRIPERSQUFEE26125, retrieved November 6, 2026. Percent changes calculated by BIG Real Estate.
These are listing figures. They count homes advertised for sale and homes under contract, not closed sales or final sale prices. Realcomp, the regional MLS, had not posted its October report when we checked on November 6. Its figures on closed sales and sale prices will fill in the rest of the picture.
Fewer contracts, not more sellers
New listings were essentially flat: 1,596 this October against 1,602 a year earlier. The supply of owners deciding to sell hasn't changed much in a year.
Contracts have. Pending listings fell to 1,375, down 13.5% from last October and 13.9% from September. Realtor.com changed how it counts pending listings in 2023, so only the last four Octobers are directly comparable. This one is the lowest of the four:
- October 2023: 1,613 pending, 2,123 active — 76 pending per 100 active
- October 2024: 1,743 pending, 2,390 active — 73 per 100
- October 2025: 1,589 pending, 2,906 active — 55 per 100
- October 2026: 1,375 pending, 3,761 active — 37 per 100
The last figure is the simplest way to see the change. Two years ago, for every 100 homes listed for sale in Oakland County, about 73 more were under contract. This October it was 37. Homes are taking longer to find a buyer, so more of them stay on the market, and the inventory builds.
Why buyers pulled back in October
Mortgage rates are the most likely cause. Freddie Mac's weekly survey of the 30-year fixed rate rose from 6.71% in early September to 7.40% in the weeks of October 8 and 15, the highest of the year. Weekly averages in October ranged from 7.24% to 7.40%. In October 2025 they ranged from 6.17% to 6.34%.
National data shows the same pullback. The Mortgage Bankers Association's October survey, as summarized by the National Association of Home Builders, showed purchase applications down 11.9% from September.
Other factors may play a part. Oakland County's unemployment rate was 4.7% in September, up from 3.9% a year earlier (BLS via FRED). But rates are what changed the most from late summer to October.
Rates have eased a little since. The 30-year average fell for a third straight week to 7.18% on November 5. On a $383,500 home, Oakland County's September median sale price according to Realcomp, with 20% down, that lowers the monthly principal and interest from about $2,124 at 7.40% to about $2,078. That's about $46 a month. It's still nearly $200 a month more than at last November's rate of 6.22%, so it doesn't undo this year's increase.
Oakland's inventory is growing faster than the region's
Listings are up in most places this fall, but Oakland County stands out. Comparing October 2026 with October 2025 in the same Realtor.com data:
- Oakland County: active listings +29.4%
- Michigan: +19.2% (ACTLISCOUMI)
- Detroit metro area: +16.1% (ACTLISCOU19820)
- United States: +7.4% (ACTLISCOUUS)
Price cuts are also more common here. About 42% of Oakland's active listings had a price reduction in October, compared with about 33% nationally.
The county started from a very low base. Even now, October's 3,761 active listings are well below the 5,000-plus of 2016, 2018 and 2019. But it's the highest October count since 2019, and the gap with last year is widening, from 24% in September to 29% in October.
Prices: asking prices are holding, sellers are cutting
The median list price fell 5.7% from a year ago, to $394,999. That sounds like falling prices, but list price per square foot was $228, the same as last October. Most of the drop in the median reflects which homes are on the market. The listings on the market now are likely smaller on average, rather than the same kinds of homes marked down across the board.
Price reductions tell a more nuanced story. The number of listings with a cut rose 24.3% from a year earlier, to 1,596. But because inventory grew even faster, the share of listings with a cut was 42.4%, a bit below last October's 44.2%. Sellers aren't cutting more aggressively than they did a year ago. More homes are on the market and staying longer, so more of them eventually get a reduction.
Realtor.com counted only 40 listings with a price increase in October.
What winter usually looks like, and how this year compares
Inventory drops every winter. Over the past ten years, Oakland's active listings fell between 11% and 29% from October to December as owners pulled homes and few new ones were listed.
If this year follows that pattern, December would have roughly 2,700 to 3,300 active listings. That's our arithmetic applied to past seasonal patterns, not a forecast. Even the low end would be more than any December since 2019, when the county had 4,107. Last December had 2,421.
So buyers shopping in December and January will probably have more to choose from than in any winter in the last six years, even with the usual seasonal decline. As we noted in our look at the best time to buy, winter sellers tend to be more motivated. In December 2022 through 2025, the median Oakland listing had been on the market 45 to 51 days, compared with 35 to 37 in September.
What this means for you
If your home is listed now: You're competing with about 30% more listings than a year ago, and buyers are slower to commit. If you've had showings but no offers after three or four weeks, the market is probably telling you something about price, condition or both. Look at what has closed nearby in the last 90 days and what's sitting unsold. Price cuts are common, but a cut that is too small to bring the home into a new search range rarely does much. Our guide to selling this fall covers how to set a price.
If you're thinking about listing before spring: Fewer new listings typically arrive from November through January, which helps. But the homes you would compete with now include a large backlog of listings that have already sat for weeks. Price from recent closed sales, not from current asking prices.
If you're buying: You have more choice and more leverage than in any recent fall, especially on homes listed 30 days or more or already reduced. Ask the listing agent how long the home has been on the market and what offers it has had. Get a pre-approval at current rates, and ask lenders about seller-paid closing costs or a rate buydown, which a seller may agree to more easily than a lower price.
If you're moving up: You'll likely give up some negotiating power when you sell and gain some when you buy. In a slower market, the order matters. Ask a lender whether you can make an offer contingent on your home's sale, or what bridge financing would cost.
What we don't know yet
- Closed sales and sale prices. Realcomp's October report will show whether September's higher median sale price held and how much below asking homes are selling.
- Whether the rate dip holds. Rates have fallen three weeks in a row, but they're still above 7%. The Federal Reserve meets next on December 8–9. We don't forecast rates.
- Local variation. These are countywide numbers. A Birmingham listing over $1 million and a Madison Heights ranch under $250,000 are in very different markets, and county data can't tell you how your street is doing.
- Measurement. Realtor.com counts listings on its site. Its totals differ from Realcomp's MLS counts. Both have shown the same direction this fall.
The takeaway
In October, Oakland County's housing market moved further toward buyers. Listings rose when they usually fall and contracts dropped to the lowest October level in four years, while asking prices per square foot held steady. Sellers aren't slashing prices across the board, but they are waiting longer for offers. Unless rates fall significantly, this winter is likely to offer buyers more choice than they've had in years, and sellers who price their home realistically from day one will be the ones who sell.
This article is general market information, not financial, legal or mortgage advice. Talk with a lender about your own financing and a qualified professional about your situation. Figures are from the sources linked above, retrieved November 6, 2026. Realtor.com figures count listings on Realtor.com, not MLS closed sales. Payment examples are principal and interest only and exclude taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance.