US Home Sales Slow Amid Rising Mortgage Rates
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What happened
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose 1.5% in September from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported, after August sales were revised lower. Compared with September a year earlier, sales fell 2.2%. The U.S. median existing-home price increased 1.3% year over year to $417,500, an all-time high for September in NAR data going back to 1999, with prices up on an annual basis for 39 consecutive months. Unsold inventory stood at 1.6 million homes at month-end, a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace. The average 30-year mortgage rate recently reached 7.4%.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 2 articles
1 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 1 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: National Association of Realtors and Lawrence Yun
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 1 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: official statistics
- Credits another outlet 0 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 13, 15:23 UTC by New York Post, naming its source. First document in the first report, from New York Post (official statistics).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Bloomberg reported it on 2026-10-07.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported on September existing-home sales at all. Right-leaning coverage says sales ticked up from August yet remain in a slump, with the New York Post describing a "very tough market out there" as rates and prices climb. A reader of the silent side would miss that the housing market remains stalled well below its historic sales pace even as prices keep setting records and more homes sit unsold.
Among right-leaning outlets the story is not uniform. The New York Post spends most of its space on climbing mortgage rates and ties the latest jump to the war between the US and Iran. OAN reports only that sales rose but stayed below last year's pace as rates and prices climbed. The New York Post also notes that cash buyers now have a wider selection because properties sit longer, a point OAN does not mention.
How large was the August sales revision that helped produce September's reported monthly gain?
Bottom line
Left-leaning outlets have not run the September existing-home sales report, so their readers would miss the New York Post's figure of an annual pace still near 4 million. That sits far below the 5.2 million historic norm cited in the same account.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- U.S. existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September but remained below last year's pace
- September existing-home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million units
- The U.S. median sales price rose to $417,500, an all-time high for the month of September
- NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said this is a very tough market out there, especially with mortgage rates rising
- There were 1.6 million unsold homes at month-end, the highest unsold inventory since November 2019
The Right View
New York Post and One America News reported the NAR release as a sign the housing market remains stalled. They noted the annual sales pace has hovered near 4 million since 2023, far below a historic norm near 5.2 million, and that September was the second straight month below 4 million. Coverage quoted NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun calling it a “very tough market,” especially with rising mortgage rates, and tied this year’s rate climb to higher inflation expectations and bond yields after a U.S.-Iran war began in late February and oil prices surged; the 30-year rate hit 7.4%, its highest in nearly three years, after briefly dipping below 6% before the war. Outlets said higher monthly payments have led many shoppers to wait, while buyers who can afford current rates or pay cash have more homes to choose from, with inventory at 1.6 million—the highest since November 2019—though still below historical norms.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it is built on NAR’s named monthly statistical release, with specific checkable figures for sales volume, median price, inventory, and months of supply, plus an on-the-record comment from NAR’s chief economist. Those housing numbers are established as NAR’s published data. Claims that the latest mortgage-rate spike was driven by a U.S.-Iran war and surging oil prices are the covering outlets’ framing of the rate move and are not independently documented in the cited articles. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the next NAR existing-home sales report, official mortgage-rate series, and any revisions to the September tally.
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