Home prices are dropping faster while headlines about rising sales make the market look healthier than it is — bad for sellers, good for patient buyers.

• Sales are picking up only because sellers are giving in and accepting lower prices and concessions.
• Mortgage rates near 7.5% mean a half-million-dollar house now costs about $1,300 more a month than it did at 3%.
• National home prices are down 10% from the 2022 peak and falling faster, with Austin sales down more than 10% in August.
• Australia is seeing the same pattern: more sellers rushing to get out as prices slip.
• More owners are skipping home insurance and even property taxes to stay afloat.

Outlook: Prices likely keep sliding near term, but a crisis that forces interest rates down could turn the market back up quickly.