The median sale price in Washington County, Utah was $499,990 in September 2026, down 0.2 percent from $500,995 a year earlier, and 319 homes closed in September 2026 against 322 in September 2025. Those are the settled counts from the MLS as of October 4, 2026. The report I pulled on the night of September 30 counted only 298 sales, which is why a count read on the first of the month makes the market look weaker than it was. The bigger news for anyone buying is outside the county: the Federal Reserve raised its target rate on September 16, and Freddie Mac's 30-year average reached 7.28 percent on October 1.
What September 2026 actually did
Prices did almost nothing in September, and the number that moved was the average. The median held within $1,005 of last year while the average sale price fell 10.6 percent, from $678,487 to $606,629. When the two split like that, it usually means the expensive end of the market sat out the month rather than the whole market repricing. The table draws on two sources, and the last column says which row came from which.
| Metric | September 2026 | September 2025 | Change | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $499,990 | $500,995 | Down 0.2% | MLS, October 4, 2026 |
| Average sale price | $606,629 | $678,487 | Down 10.6% | MLS, October 4, 2026 |
| Homes closed | 319 | 322 | Down 0.9% | MLS, October 4, 2026 |
| Sale price as a share of final list price | 98.6% | 97.9% | Up 0.7 points | MLS, October 4, 2026 |
| Active listings | 1,974 | 1,871 | Up 5.5% | flexmls export, September 30, 2026 |
| New listings | 601 | 546 | Up 10.1% | flexmls export, September 30, 2026 |
| Pending sales | 291 | 310 | Down 6.1% | flexmls export, September 30, 2026 |
| Median days on market (cumulative) | 37 | 52 | Down 15 days | flexmls export, September 30, 2026 |
| Absorption rate | 5.46 months | 5.40 months | Up 1.1% | flexmls export, September 30, 2026 |
Sources: the Washington Residential market summary I prepared in flexmls on September 30, 2026 at 9:14 p.m., and the Washington County MLS statistics and listing search read on October 4, 2026. Every figure is Washington County residential, which includes condos, townhomes and manufactured homes.
Why 298 sales became 319 in four days
My September 30 export counted 298 closed sales for the month. When I counted September again in the MLS on October 4, 2026, the total was 319, which is 21 more sales and a revision of 7 percent. Closings keep getting entered for days after a month ends, so the first count of any month is a floor, and comparing it to a finished prior year flatters last year.
August went through the same thing and I should say so plainly. My August report counted 295 sales on September 1 and showed them down 17.8 percent from a year earlier. The MLS now shows 349 sales for August 2026, which is down 2.8 percent. The market did not recover in September. The count simply finished filling in.
Year to date is the steadier measure. Adding the MLS monthly counts, 3,305 homes closed from January through September 2026 against 3,248 over the same nine months of 2025, an increase of 1.8 percent. The year to date median sale price in my September 30 export was $520,000 against $525,000 a year earlier, so sales are running slightly ahead of last year and prices slightly behind.
The $400,000 band that grew 40 percent in August shrank in September
Last month the only price band that sold more than a year earlier was $400,000 to $499,999, up 40 percent. In September that band fell 19 percent, from 74 sales to 60, and the growth moved to both ends. Sales under $400,000 rose 20 percent and sales from $750,000 to $999,999 rose 37 percent.
| Price band | September 2026 sales | September 2025 sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $400,000 | 100 | 83 | Up 20% |
| $400,000 to $499,999 | 60 | 74 | Down 19% |
| $500,000 to $749,999 | 93 | 97 | Down 4% |
| $750,000 to $999,999 | 37 | 27 | Up 37% |
| $1,000,000 and up | 29 | 41 | Down 29% |
Source: September 2026 counted in the Washington County MLS by sold date and sold price on October 4, 2026, total 319. September 2025 from the flexmls market summary prepared September 30, 2026, with its sixteen published price ranges combined into these five, total 322.
In August I wrote that the median fell because of mix and not because of values. September is the same lesson in the other direction: the mix shuffled again and the median still landed within half of one percent of last year. In a county that closes about 300 homes a month, one band moving 15 or 20 sales is ordinary noise.
Why the average fell 10.6 percent when the median barely moved
The top of the market is where the average went. Twenty-nine homes closed at $1,000,000 or more in September 2026 against 41 in September 2025, a drop of 29 percent, and that group made up 9.1 percent of sales against 12.7 percent a year ago. When fewer expensive homes close, the average falls and the median barely notices.
The asking side did not follow. In the September 30 export, 376 of the county's 1,974 active listings were priced at $1,000,000 or more, which is 19.0 percent of inventory, against 340 of 1,871 and 18.2 percent a year earlier. The median asking price of active listings was $599,900 at the end of September in the MLS statistics, against a median sold price of $499,990, a gap of about $100,000, or 20 percent. Part of that gap is real, because the listings that stay on the market lean larger and pricier than the homes that sell in a given month.
Sellers who did close gave away little. The average sale came in at 98.6 percent of the final list price, up from 97.9 percent a year earlier, and the median cumulative time on the market fell from 52 days to 37. Absorption sat at 5.46 months, and six months is the usual line between a seller's market and a buyer's market. Open the St. George market summary.
What the Fed and mortgage rates did in September
The Federal Open Market Committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter point, to 3.75 to 4.00 percent, in its statement of September 16, 2026, by a vote of 12 to 0. My August report said the range had held at 3.50 to 3.75 percent all year and that anyone predicting the September meeting was guessing. It moved up, and it was unanimous. Read the September 16 statement here.
Mortgage rates had already been climbing. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed average at 6.71 percent on September 3, 6.95 percent on September 17, 7.03 percent on September 24 and 7.28 percent on October 1, 2026. The 15-year averaged 6.60 percent that week. A year earlier, on the October 1 survey, the 30-year stood at 6.34 percent. Freddie Mac publishes weekly figures only and no official monthly average exists, so I am giving you the weeks. Open the Freddie Mac rate survey.
On a $400,000 loan, principal and interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage comes to about $2,584 a month at 6.71 percent and about $2,737 a month at 7.28 percent. That is $153 more every month, or about $1,837 a year, before taxes, insurance and association dues. That is my own arithmetic from the two rates, not a lender quote.
The September sales above were mostly written at lower rates. Freddie Mac's weekly average ran between 6.65 and 6.69 percent in every August survey, and a September closing is typically a contract signed a month or more earlier. The pending count is the earlier signal: 291 pending sales at the end of September against 310 a year ago, down 6.1 percent. October and November closings will be the first to show how buyers respond to a rate above 7 percent.
What each city did in September
Hurricane was the one city where sales rose. The MLS shows 48 homes closed in Hurricane against 39 a year ago, up 23 percent, with the median sale price up 14.1 percent to $539,495. St. George and Washington City both sold fewer homes than in September 2025, down 11 percent and 8 percent, and their medians stayed within 2 percent of last year. Ivins and Santa Clara had too few sales for a median to mean much.
| City | Sales, September 2026 | Sales, September 2025 | Median sale price, September 2026 | Median sale price, September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George | 142 | 159 | $509,000 (141 sales) | $500,000 |
| Washington City | 86 | 93 | $492,490 | $501,990 |
| Hurricane | 48 | 39 | $539,495 | $472,995 |
| Ivins | 11 | Not compared | $775,000 | Not compared |
| Santa Clara | 7 | Not compared | $793,700 | Not compared |
Source: Washington County MLS residential statistics by city, read October 5, 2026. The five cities total 294 of the county's 319 sales, and the other 25 closed in smaller towns and unincorporated areas.
One note on St. George. The MLS statistic for the city shows a September median of $504,163, but that figure includes a townhouse recorded at a sold price of $345, which is plainly a data entry error and not a sale. I dropped that record, which leaves 141 sales and a median of $509,000. Dropping the same record would move the county median by only $5, from the $499,990 the MLS reports to $499,995, so I left the county figure alone. I can only catch an error like that because the MLS lets me read individual sales.
How Washington County compares to the country
The National Association of Realtors reported a national median existing-home price of $429,100 for August 2026 in its September 10 release, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, with 4.9 months of supply and a median of 31 days on the market. Washington County's September median of $499,990 runs about 17 percent above that national figure, and our absorption of 5.46 months is a little higher than the national 4.9. The months differ and the two organizations do not measure days on market the same way, so treat this as a sense of scale. Read NAR's August report here.
Washington County: September 2026 in six numbers (MLS, read October 4, 2026, and flexmls export, September 30, 2026)
- Median sale price: $499,990, down 0.2 percent from $500,995
- Sales: 319 homes closed against 322, with 298 counted on the night of September 30
- Year to date: 3,305 sales through September against 3,248, up 1.8 percent
- Inventory: 1,974 active listings, up 5.5 percent, with 5.46 months of absorption
- Rates: Freddie Mac 30-year average of 7.28 percent on October 1, up from 6.71 percent on September 3
- The Fed: target range raised to 3.75 to 4.00 percent on September 16
If you are selling this fall
A buyer pricing a payment at a rate above 7 percent is doing careful math, so expect less tolerance for a stretch price. Sales in September averaged 98.6 percent of the final list price, so a home priced to the market still sells near its ask. Price against what closed in the last 60 days and not against last spring's comparables or the highest number on your street.
Above $1,000,000 the math is harder. Roughly a fifth of the county's standing inventory is priced there and about 9 percent of September's sales, so an expensive listing competes with a lot of other expensive listings for a thin set of buyers. Read my seller page here.
If you are buying this fall
You have 1,974 active listings to choose from, up 5.5 percent from a year ago, and a median of 37 days on the market. That is room to inspect properly and walk away from a house that does not fit. The honest trade-off this month is that selection is better and rates are worse, and the $153 a month I worked out above is what that trade costs on a $400,000 loan. Here are the current feeds:
- St. George homes for sale
- St. George condos and townhomes
- New construction in St. George
- 55+ and retirement communities
- Hurricane Valley homes
Property taxes vary between Washington County cities more than most buyers expect, and closing costs follow filed rate schedules. I built a calculator for each. Run the property tax calculator. Run the closing cost calculator.
Common questions
What is the median home price in Washington County, Utah?
The median sale price in Washington County was $499,990 in September 2026, down 0.2 percent from $500,995 in September 2025. The year to date median through September is $520,000 against $525,000 over the same stretch of 2025, from my flexmls export prepared September 30, 2026. The September figure comes from the Washington County MLS as of October 4, 2026.
Are home prices falling in Washington County, Utah in 2026?
Not by much. The September median was down 0.2 percent from a year earlier, and the year to date median is $520,000 against $525,000, a decline of 1.0 percent. The average sale price fell 10.6 percent in September, but that came from fewer sales above $1,000,000, 29 against 41, and not from the typical home losing value.
How many homes sold in Washington County in September 2026?
The MLS shows 319 homes closed in Washington County in September 2026, against 322 in September 2025. My first count on September 30 showed 298, and the total rose as late closings were entered, so an early count of any month understates it.
What are mortgage rates in St. George, Utah right now?
Freddie Mac's national 30-year fixed average was 7.28 percent on October 1, 2026, up from 6.71 percent on September 3, and the 15-year average was 6.60 percent. Freddie Mac publishes national weekly averages and not Utah figures, so your own quote will differ with your credit, down payment and lender.
Is it a good time to buy a house in St. George, Utah?
It is if you can carry the payment at a rate above 7 percent and expect to stay for several years, and it is not if the numbers only work when rates fall. Selection is better than a year ago, with 1,974 active listings, and September sales averaged 98.6 percent of list price. On a $400,000 loan the move from 6.71 to 7.28 percent adds about $153 a month in principal and interest.
Want the numbers for your own house?
County medians are a starting point and nothing more. What your home is worth depends on your street, your finishes, your lot and what closed within half a mile of you in the last ninety days. I have sold real estate in St. George for 13 years and I am glad to run the actual comparables on your address, whether you are listing this fall or just want to know where you stand.
Call or text me at 435-200-5508. You can also send me a message on my contact page. Open the contact form. Read last month's August report.