I pulled the July numbers for Washington County this weekend, and they tell two stories at once. The median sale price hit $544,990, up 4.2% from last July. Closed sales fell 15.8% over the same stretch, to 309 homes. Prices up, activity down, and both of those things are true at the same time. If you only read headlines, you would think the market is either booming or stalling depending on which number the writer picked. The honest answer is that it split, and knowing which side of the split your home or your budget sits on matters more right now than any single statistic.
I sell here every week, so these are not numbers I read about somewhere. Here is the full July picture from the MLS, what is driving it, and what I would actually do about it as a buyer or a seller.
The Headline Numbers for July 2026
Washington County residential, July 2026 against July 2025: median sold price $544,990, up 4.2% from $523,108. Closed sales 309, down 15.8% from 367. Pending sales 324, down 16.9%. New listings 481, down 13.5%. Active inventory 1,889 homes, up 3.7%, which works out to 5.21 months of supply. The median home that sold went under contract in 42 days, and sellers collected 95.8% of their original asking price. Year to date the county has closed 2,578 sales, almost exactly even with last year, at a $529,655 median.
That 95.8% figure deserves a second look. It measures against the original list price, not the final one after cuts, so the typical July seller ended up giving back about 4% from where they started. Homes priced right from day one are not the ones giving that back.
What Sold and What Didn't
The engine of this market is still the $500K to $750K range, which closed 121 sales in July, more than a third of everything that sold. Below that, the story gets choppy. The $350K to $400K band actually grew, up 11% with 40 sales, and those are heavily townhomes and condos plus entry-level new construction. But the $400K to $500K stretch fell hard, down roughly half from last July. Buyers who would have stretched into that range a year ago are either buying the cheaper product or waiting.
Pendings tell you where next month is headed, and there the $400K to $450K band jumped 56% with 50 homes under contract. So the middle is not dead, it just got very price-sensitive. When something in that range is priced correctly, it moves.
The Luxury Divergence
Here is the side of the split nobody's headline mentions. July closed 19 sales between $1M and $2M, and year to date that band is up 9.8% with 235 closings. The $2M to $3M band has closed 42 sales this year against 22 at this point last year, a 91% increase. Active inventory above $5M is up 38% because sellers at that level see the demand. Communities like Entrada, Stone Cliff, and the resort product around Sand Hollow are running on different fuel than the rest of the county: equity buyers, second-home money, and out-of-state relocations that do not care what mortgage rates are doing this week. If you own in the luxury segment, this is the strongest stretch since 2022.
Inventory: Buyers Finally Have Selection
1,889 active listings is the deepest July selection in years, and 5.21 months of supply is the kind of number that used to be normal before 2020. It is not a crash number. It is a negotiation number. New listings actually fell 13.5%, so this is not a flood of sellers rushing for the exits; it is homes sitting longer because buyers have options and know it. The average days on market of 75 against a median of 42 says it plainly: half the market moves in six weeks, and the overpriced half sits long enough to drag the average up.
Rates Are Not Helping the Middle
Freddie Mac's survey put the 30-year fixed at 6.66% at the end of July, an 11-month high. That lands hardest exactly where the sales dropped, on the financed buyer between $400K and $750K. It barely touches the luxury market, which is a big part of why the county's numbers split the way they did.
Around the County in July
The board-fed city reports add local texture. St. George posted a $522,500 median across 144 closings, up 1.1% on last July. Washington City printed $609,990, though on only 81 closings, so treat that spike gently. Hurricane came in at $501,850, down 3.4% on the month but still running 6.9% ahead of last year's pace on volume. Over the mountain in Iron County, Cedar City logged a $405,000 median, up 2.9%, and remains the value play of the region. And Ivins keeps being three markets in one, where resort condos and Kayenta customs make any citywide median nearly useless.
If You're Selling
Price to the market you are in, not the one from 2024. The gap between the homes that close in 42 days and the ones that sit for months is almost entirely a pricing decision made in the first week. With 5.21 months of supply, chasing the market down with cuts costs you more than starting honest, and the 95.8% sale-to-original-list figure is the county-wide receipt for that. My selling process starts with comps I verify by hand, not an algorithm's guess, and if the answer is "wait until spring," I will tell you that too.
If You're Buying
Buyers have not had this much negotiating power here in years, and most do not realize it. Nearly 1,900 homes to choose from, sellers giving back 4% on average from original ask, and builders carrying incentives on standing inventory. If the monthly payment works at 6.66%, negotiate hard now and refinance if rates give you the chance later. And if you are shopping the 55+ communities, resale selection at SunRiver and its neighbors is the best it has been in a long while.
Common Questions
Why are prices up if sales are down?
Mix. The under-$500K financed market slowed while the luxury market accelerated, so the middle of the distribution shifted upward even though fewer homes changed hands. A 4.2% median gain on 15.8% fewer sales is not appreciation you can bank on for a specific house; it is the market's composition changing.
Is it a buyer's market or a seller's market in St. George right now?
At 5.21 months of supply, it is balanced with a lean toward buyers, and it varies block by block. Correctly priced homes still sell near ask in about six weeks. Overpriced homes sit and eventually give back 4% or more. Both sides win by respecting the number, not fighting it.
What are homes selling for in Washington County in 2026?
The July 2026 median sold price was $544,990 county-wide, with the year-to-date median at $529,655. St. George specifically ran $522,500 in July, Hurricane $501,850, Washington City $609,990 on light volume, and Cedar City $405,000. The full month-by-month history lives on my market report page, updated on the 1st of every month.
Thinking about a move while the market is split like this? Call or text me at 435-200-5508, or reach out here. Thirteen years and about 275 closings in this county, and I will give you the honest read on your specific street, not the county average.