More closings, a higher-end mix, a longer clock.
January 2026 opened loud. Closed sales climbed seventeen percent above last January and dollar volume jumped thirty two percent, while the active shelf finally compressed four percent, the cleanest piece of good news for sellers. The line that needs explaining is the split between the two price measures: the median pulled back five percent to $538,500, but the average rose twelve percent to $731,141. When the median falls and the average climbs at the same time, that is a mix story, not broad appreciation or broad softening. A wave of upper-tier closings lifted the mean while the typical home traded a notch lower.
The percent-of-list ratio held at ninety eight, and the pace clock ran about two weeks longer than last January. The cumulative read: 2026 opened with last year's deep shelf finally being absorbed, on strong volume, with the high end doing a disproportionate share of the work. For the short read on where your home would price into this opening 2026, my what is my St. George home worth page is the fastest place to start.