Vinny Muthal · REALTOR® · ReKonnection, LLC
DFW Market Pulse Week of September 21–26, 2026
Next issue Saturday, Oct 3
Mortgage News Daily · NAR · NTREIS
Mortgage rates
30-year fixed, conventional — what lenders were actually quoting on September 25, 2026, from Mortgage News Daily's daily rate survey. Rates climbed more than half a point across the two prior weeks before easing slightly.
Which of those you qualify for moves your payment more than another week of waiting will.
What each loan costs on a $390,000 home
| Loan | Rate | Day | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-yr conventional | 7.43% | −0.02 | $2,167 |
| 30-yr FHA | 7.15% | +0.10 | $2,107 |
| 30-yr VA | 7.17% | +0.10 | $2,111 |
| 30-yr jumbo | 7.55% | 0.00 | $2,192 |
| 15-yr fixed | 7.10% | 0.00 | $2,822 |
| 7/6 ARM | 6.85% | +0.15 | $2,044 |
Every rate here is a real consumer quote from Mortgage News Daily's September 25 survey, not a weekly average. Payments are monthly principal and interest on the same $312,000 loan — 20% down on the August median North Texas sale price — so the rates compare like for like. Taxes and insurance are extra and run high in North Texas.
FHA and VA allow far smaller down payments, which raises the loan amount and adds mortgage insurance or a funding fee; jumbo starts above the conforming limit. Those change the real payment, so have a lender price your actual scenario before you count on any figure in this column.
The local number
North Texas, August 2026
Single-family homes across the NTREIS service area, anchored by the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metro.
| Metric | August 2026 | vs. last year |
|---|---|---|
| Median sold price | $390,000 | 0% |
| Average sold price | $509,071 | +1% |
| Sold price vs. list | 94.8% | — |
| Closed sales | 7,329 | −5% |
| Homes for sale | 31,072 | −6% |
| New listings | 10,219 | −10% |
| Months of inventory | 4.3 | — |
| Days on market | 58 | 0% |
The number to sit with is 94.8%. The typical August sale closed about five percent under its asking price — about $20,300 off a $390,000 list. Sellers are still getting last year's price, but they are getting it after a negotiation, and with pending sales down 11% from last August that room is not closing.
Attached homes give up more. Condos: 8.7 months of supply, $252,500 median, 73 days, closing at 90.8% of list — about $23,200 off. Townhomes: 5.9 months, $369,913, 85 days, 93.8% of list.
Renting a single-family home averaged $2,671, up just 1% year over year, on 2.1 months of supply and 15% fewer listings than last August. Rent growth has stopped, so rent-versus-buy turns on your rate, not next year's rent.
What it means for you
Three things worth acting on
Offer under list — then choose where the concession lands. August sellers took 94.8% of asking after 58 days: about $20,300 on a $390,000 list. As a price cut that is roughly $113 a month at today's rate. As a seller credit toward your rate it usually buys more; have your lender price both before you write.
Your competition thinned, but your buyers got pickier. New listings are down 10% and homes for sale down 6%, yet closed sales fell 5%, pending sales fell 11%, and the median price did not move. Price at the market on day one and budget a concession — a listing that starts high is what turns into a price cut.
Ask what you qualify for before you ask about timing. FHA at 7.15% or VA at 7.17% beats conventional by about a quarter point; a 7/6 ARM at 6.85% saves roughly $122 a month on a $312,000 loan. The ARM fits a five-year horizon, not a forever home — the rate resets and you carry that risk.
National backdrop
How North Texas compares
National figures from NAR's August existing-home sales report, released September 10, 2026.
Existing-home sales ran at a 3.98 million annual pace in August, down 2.0% from July and 1.2% from a year ago, on 1.62 million homes for sale. Pending contracts rose 0.3% for the month but sat 4.7% below last year. In Texas, the Real Estate Research Center's latest reading — July data — put the statewide median at $339,000 and DFW at 4.6 months of inventory, with annual price declines easing to 0.2%; Fort Worth–Arlington posted a fourth straight month of price gains while Dallas stayed softer. North Texas is cheaper than the country, a shade tighter on supply, and flat on price — a market that rewards negotiating on terms rather than waiting for a discount.
Compare carefully. Both prices above are medians, so they match; North Texas' $509,071 average is a different measure and does not belong against a national median. Months of supply does not match — NAR uses a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate, NTREIS a trailing twelve-month average — so 4.9 against 4.3 is direction, not margin. Days on market runs to a different milestone at each source and is deliberately not compared here.
Vinayak “Vinny” Muthal
REALTOR® · TX License #836704 · ReKonnection, LLC
Your DFW Real Estate Resource. Numbers like these only matter once they're applied to your street, your timeline, and your budget. Let's strategize your next move.