U.S. home purchase loans hit their lowest quarterly level since early 2014, and pending home sales fell for the second consecutive week, according to a new report from Atom and Redfin.
For millions of prospective homebuyers, this math still doesn’t hold true.
U.S. home purchase loans fell to a 12-year low in the first quarter of 2026, and pending home sales also fell for the second week in a row, highlighting the impact rising mortgage rates and home prices are having on home affordability, new data shows.
Approximately 581,000 home purchase loans were originated from January to March 2026, down 19% from the previous quarter and the lowest quarterly total since early 2014, according to real estate data firm Atom’s 2026 Q1 U.S. Mortgage Origination Report. Total purchase financing in the first quarter was approximately $237 billion, down 18% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 and down 8% year over year.
The scope of the slowdown was wide-ranging. In 99% of the 200 metropolitan areas analyzed by Atom, purchasing activity decreased quarter over quarter. According to an analysis of Attom data by Realtor.com, among the metropolitan areas, purchase activity saw the steepest drop in the quarter in St. Louis, where it fell by 43.5%. Rochester, New York, down 38.6%. Honolulu, down 16.1%. Boston decreased by 19.3%. and Pittsburgh, down 28.7 percent.
According to Atom, the only large cities where purchasing activity did not decline were Yuma, Ariz., up 28.6% and Tucson, Ariz., up 5.9%.
On the demand side, pending home sales for the week ending May 24 fell a seasonally adjusted 1.5% from the previous week, marking the second consecutive year of decline after four weeks of increases. According to Redfin, mortgage purchase applications have fallen to their lowest level since early April. Median monthly home payments rose an average of 6.51% to $2,637, an 11-month high.
The daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit a 10-month high of 6.75% last week, but fell to 6.61% on May 27, according to Mortgage News Daily. Redfin attributed the recent rate hike to several factors, including the ongoing Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, rising oil prices, AI-driven inflation, and Fed officials hinting at the possibility of rate hikes.
The median sales price for the four weeks ending May 24 was $398,768, up 2.2% from a year ago, according to Redfin. The available inventory is approximately 1.49 million units, and the number of months of supply is 3.4 months, which is still below the 4 to 5 month period considered to be an equilibrium market.
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