Lower mortgage rates are helping stabilize housing demand even as inventory has declined, according to Logan Mohtashami’s latest Housing Market Tracker.
But a national housing demand signal doesn’t mean every local market is following. And even within the same metro area, buyer activity can tell very different stories.
The Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metro area in Florida offers a useful example.
New pending listings across the metro area increased 20.2% year over year in October, according to HousingWire Data. A closer look at individual cities, however, reveals that the improvement was far from uniform.
One metro, different patterns of buyer activity
In Ormond Beach, Fla., new pending listings increased 116.7% year over year in October, rising from 72 in 2025 to 156 in 2026.
Nearby Port Orange recorded an 80% increase, while Daytona Beach saw a 63.2% gain.
But Deltona, one of the cities that gives the metro area its name, experienced a 24.3% decline. New pending listings fell from 136 to 103. New Smyrna Beach also recorded a decline of 25.3%.
Different patterns of buyer activity. This chart compares weekly new pending listings in Ormond Beach and Deltona over the past six months. While both cities experience fluctuations in weekly activity, their October year-over-year trends tell different stories. Adjust the date range or select YoY to explore how each city’s activity compares with its historical performance.
For housing professionals, the distinction matters. A regional market can be gaining momentum while individual communities within it are moving in the opposite direction.
Seasonality doesn’t look the same everywhere
Fall typically brings a slowdown in housing activity, but the timing and magnitude can vary significantly by market.
That’s why a change in new pending listings needs seasonal context.
Consider the average weekly new pending listings in three Volusia County cities between September and October 2026:
- Ormond Beach: Increased from 28 to 31.2 per week, up 11.4%.
- Port Orange: Increased from 16.3 to 19.8 per week, up 21.5%.
- Deltona: Declined from 26 to 20.6 per week, down 20.8%.
Historical trends add another layer. Ormond Beach also experienced an increase in average weekly new pending listings between September and October in 2025, but the increase was smaller. Deltona experienced an increase during that period in 2025 before reversing direction this year.
The lesson isn’t that one city is stronger than another. It’s that seasonal changes can play out differently even in neighboring communities.
A decline in new pending listings may be consistent with a market’s typical seasonal pattern. A smaller-than-usual decline could signal improving momentum. And an increase in activity deserves a closer look to determine whether it represents a sustained shift or a short-term fluctuation.
What to watch in your own market
The Florida example raises a useful question: Are changes in buyer activity consistent across the communities you serve, or is the broader market trend masking important differences?
Four metrics can help you recognize changes, understand what they might signal and put that information to work.
1. New pending listings: Is buyer activity gaining momentum?
What to watch: Compare new pending listings with the same period last year and track changes over several consecutive weeks. Look for activity that differs from the market’s typical seasonal pattern.
What it could mean: Sustained increases may indicate strengthening buyer activity, while declines can signal weakening demand. A smaller-than-usual seasonal decline may also be an early sign of stabilization.
How to use it: Identify communities where buyer activity is changing. Agents can use that information to set expectations with buyers and sellers, while loan officers can help referral partners understand where transaction opportunities may be improving.
2. New listings: Is supply keeping pace with demand?
What to watch: Compare the number of new listings entering the market with new pending listings. Is the gap between them widening or narrowing?
What it could mean: When new pending activity increases relative to new listings, buyers may be absorbing a greater share of incoming supply. When new listings grow faster than new pending activity, more homes may be competing for buyers’ attention.
How to use it: Evaluate whether buyers are likely to encounter more competition or more choices. For agents, that can inform pricing and offer strategies. For lending teams, it can help identify markets where purchase activity may be gaining momentum relative to available opportunities.
3. Price reductions: Are seller expectations adjusting?
What to watch: Track the share of active listings with price reductions and whether that share is rising or falling over several weeks.
What it could mean: A rising share may suggest sellers are having difficulty attracting buyers at their initial asking prices. A declining share could indicate better alignment between pricing and buyer expectations, although changes in listing mix and seasonality can also influence the metric.
How to use it: Bring evidence into pricing conversations rather than relying solely on recent comparable sales. Loan officers can use the same information to help referral partners understand negotiating conditions and where pricing expectations may be changing.
4. Days on market: Is the pace of the market changing?
What to watch: Compare median days on market with recent weeks and the same period last year. Look for whether homes are spending more or less time on the market.
What it could mean: Shorter marketing times alongside stronger new pending activity may reinforce evidence of improving demand. Longer marketing times, particularly when new pending activity is declining, may indicate that buyers are becoming more selective or that listings are taking longer to find the right price.
How to use it: Set more realistic expectations for listing timelines, buyer urgency and transaction pipelines. Brokerage and lending leaders can also use changes in market pace to inform team planning and activity forecasts.
Put the signals together
No single metric tells the whole story.
If new pending listings are increasing, new listings are flat and days on market are declining, the combination provides stronger evidence of improving buyer activity than new pending listings alone.
But if new pending listings are rising alongside increasing price reductions and longer marketing times, the market may be experiencing a more complicated adjustment.
Consider Port Orange, Fla., where the share of listings with price reductions has declined since late September, but weekly new pending listings have fluctuated without a sustained increase. Fewer price reductions may be an encouraging sign, but they don’t necessarily indicate stronger buyer activity.
Different signals, different stories. In Port Orange, the share of listings with price reductions has fallen while weekly new pending listings have remained uneven. Adjust the date range to explore how these trends have changed over time.
Then compare neighboring communities. As the Florida example demonstrates, the same combination of metrics can tell different stories within a single metro area.
You can track these metrics and customize charts by city or ZIP code in HousingWire Intelligence.
The objective isn’t to predict the next market shift. It’s to recognize what is changing, understand what the evidence suggests and bring a more informed perspective to conversations with clients, referral partners and your team.
The takeaway
Logan’s national analysis suggests housing demand is finding some stability as mortgage rates ease. But the Florida data shows why that broader trend is only the starting point.
The more useful question isn’t simply whether the housing market is improving. It’s whether your market is improving, how you know and what that means for your business.
National trends provide context. Local data helps you make better decisions.
Methodology: The analysis uses HousingWire Data and covers single-family residential listings in the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metro area in Volusia County, Florida.
October year-over-year comparisons use five weekly reporting periods in both 2025 and 2026. September-to-October comparisons use average weekly new pending listings to account for the different number of reporting weeks in each month.
New pending listings measure properties newly entering pending status during the reporting period, rather than the total number of properties under contract or completed sales.
All figures reflect data available through Nov. 6, 2026.
Explore local market trends and customize charts in HousingWire Intelligence.
