Rates ticked down slightly heading into the last week of August. The 30-year fixed is sitting at 6.68%–6.72% depending on your lender and loan size — basically flat from last week. Not the dramatic drop buyers have been waiting for, but not getting worse either. Jumbo rates in the $1.5M–$2.5M range are running about 6.85%–7.1% for qualified borrowers.
On the Marin side, inventory is still the defining issue. Median list price is holding around $1,299,000, and homes are taking about two months to sell on average — longer than what we were seeing in spring. That’s not a crash; it’s sellers adjusting to a world where buyers aren’t waiving contingencies anymore.
A few things worth paying attention to this week:
Sellers who listed in spring and didn’t sell are repricing. We’re starting to see price reductions on homes that sat through July. If you’ve been watching something and it just dropped, this is the time to revisit it — that seller is motivated and you have more negotiating room than you did 90 days ago.
The rate-lock trap is real. A lot of Marin homeowners bought or refinanced at 3%–4% between 2020 and 2022 and simply won’t sell at today’s rates. That’s kept listings low all year. Until rates come down meaningfully — most forecasters aren’t expecting sub-6% until late 2027 at the earliest — this dynamic isn’t going away. Less competition on the buy side, but fewer choices too.
End of August is a legitimate buying window. Most families who needed to be settled before school already are. Buyers still active right now are serious — not tire-kickers. Sellers know this too. If you’re pre-approved and ready to move, the next 4–6 weeks before the holiday slowdown are worth taking seriously.
Want to know exactly what you qualify for at today’s rates? Call us at (800) 239-1108 or apply online. Takes about 20 minutes to get a real pre-approval number — not an estimate.
Data sourced from Zillow, Bankrate, and Mortgage Daily — August 24, 2026.
