Market analytics · May 2026 archive
Highland, Utah real estate market report.
Monthly sold prices, days on market, sale-to-list ratio, and absorption rate. Updated nightly from UtahRealEstate.com and the Washington County Board of Realtors.
Updated · Sources: UtahRealEstate.com & Washington County Board of Realtors
May 2026 · Market Analysis
Highland homes are selling faster in May, but rising rates are quietly raising the cost of each closing.
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Homes in Highland are moving noticeably faster this May than they were just two months ago: median days on market came in at 13 in May 2026, up slightly from April's 10 but a fraction of the 63-day median recorded in March. Closings reached 23 — the most active month since at least last summer and well above May 2025's 13 — while active inventory climbed to 76 homes, up from 67 in April and 58 in March. The speed story is real, but it comes with a caveat: the homes selling quickly are largely in the over-$700K segment, where 20 of the 23 May closings occurred at a median of $891,000.
Market pulse
Over the past six months, Highland's days-on-market reading has swung dramatically: 29 days in December, 61 in January, 39 in February, 63 in March, then a sharp drop to 10 in April and a modest rebound to 13 in May — a pattern that reflects both seasonal demand returning and the lumpy nature of a low-volume luxury market. Closed sales have followed a similar arc: 8 in January, 12 in February, just 6 in March, then 19 in April and 23 in May, with the May figure representing a 77% increase from May 2025's 13 closings. Active inventory has been building steadily — 33 homes in January, 36 in February, 58 in March, 67 in April, and 76 in May — as new listings have consistently outpaced closings since late winter. The sale-to-list ratio has drifted slightly lower, from 99.42% in December to 97.68% in May, and 14 of the 23 May closings settled below list price, suggesting sellers are making concessions even as the overall pace looks healthy.
Mortgage context
The 30-year fixed rate sits at 6.75% as of mid-June, up 0.25 percentage points from 6.50% thirty days ago and 0.56 percentage points above February's monthly average of 6.19% — the low point of the past seven months. For Highland buyers financing a median-priced home, that February-to-now climb translates to a meaningful increase in monthly carrying costs. Jumbo financing, which applies to most Highland purchases above the conforming loan limit, is currently priced at 7.25%, adding further pressure on buyers targeting the $1M-plus segment that has historically dominated closings in neighborhoods like Beacon Hill and Dry Creek.
Payment math
On a median-priced home here — about $850,000 with 20% down — the monthly principal-and-interest payment lands at $4,410 at 6.75% — $112 more than 30 days ago at 6.50%, and $250 above the February low when rates averaged 6.19% and the payment would have been $4,160.
If you're buying
Target listings in Highland Hills and Alpine Country that have been sitting 40 or more days — the sale-to-list ratio on stale inventory is running closer to 96–97%, and both neighborhoods had active sellers in May who accepted below-list offers. With 6 of May's 23 closings involving a prior price reduction, there is real room to negotiate on homes that have already been adjusted; look for those first rather than chasing fresh listings that may still be priced to last spring's tighter conditions. Buyers who can qualify for a conforming loan (under the jumbo threshold) have a meaningful rate advantage right now — the gap between the 30-year fixed at 6.75% and the jumbo rate at 7.25% is half a percentage point, which on a $900,000 purchase amounts to roughly $270 more per month in jumbo territory.
If you're selling
With 76 active listings competing for 23 buyers in May, Highland sellers need to price relative to what similar homes actually closed for — not what the median list price of $1,371,250 suggests the market will bear. Homes in Highland Hills and the Green subdivision that sold in May averaged 40–69 days on market, meaning overpriced listings are sitting; pricing 2–3% below recent comparable sales in your neighborhood will generate more showings in the first two weeks than a high-anchor strategy that leads to a visible price cut later. If your home is in the $700K–$1M range, the over-$700K segment is where all the action is (20 of 23 May closings), but buyers in that band are increasingly rate-sensitive — condition and presentation matter more than they did a year ago when the sale-to-list ratio was closer to 99%.
Outlook
Over the next 60–90 days, Highland's inventory will likely continue building as the spring listing season runs its course — new listings have averaged 30+ per month since March, and closings have not yet caught up enough to draw the active count down. If the 30-year rate holds near 6.75% or drifts higher toward the 6.68% June monthly average already visible in the data, buyers financing in the jumbo range (most Highland purchases above roughly $800K) will face even steeper monthly costs, which could slow the pace of closings in the $1M-plus segment that includes neighborhoods like Skye Estates and Diamond Meadows. Sellers who list in June and July should expect longer marketing times than April's unusually fast 10-day median suggested — May's 13-day median is more representative of where the market is settling.
Watch for
If the 30-year fixed rate crosses 7.00% and jumbo rates approach 7.50%, expect the over-$1M segment in Highland to slow materially — that price band accounted for the bulk of May's dollar volume, and even a modest rate increase meaningfully raises the monthly payment on a $1.5M Beacon Hill or Dry Creek home.
"Highland's spring tempo holds — 23 closings, a 13-day median, and a rate headwind that's adding $250/month since February."
Common questions about Highland this month
Is Highland a buyer's or seller's market in May 2026? ▾
It's a transitional market leaning toward buyers in the upper price ranges. Active inventory reached 76 homes in May against 23 closings, meaning at that pace it would take about 3.3 months to sell every home currently listed — historically a balanced-to-slightly-buyer-favoring condition. The fact that 14 of 23 closings settled below list price reinforces that buyers have real negotiating leverage, particularly on homes that have been listed for more than 30 days.
Why are days on market so much lower in May than they were in January and March? ▾
January and March both had very few closings — 8 and 6 respectively — and the homes that did close tended to be ones that had been sitting for months, which pulled the median days on market up to 61 and 63. In April and May, a broader mix of homes sold, including many that moved quickly, which brought the median down to 10 and 13 days. In a low-volume luxury market like Highland, a handful of fast-moving sales can shift the median significantly.
What price range is most active in Highland right now? ▾
The over-$700K segment is doing almost all of the work — 20 of May's 23 closings were in that band, at a median sale price of $891,000. The $400K–$700K range had just 3 closings at a median of $540,000. There were no closings under $400K. Subdivisions like Highland Hills, Alpine Country, and Green accounted for the most activity in May, while the ultra-luxury end (Skye Estates at $2.45M, Diamond Meadows at $1.79M) saw isolated but notable sales.
How much does the current mortgage rate affect a typical Highland purchase? ▾
On a median-priced $850,000 home with 20% down, the monthly principal-and-interest payment at today's 6.75% rate is $4,410. That's $250 more per month than it would have been in February when rates averaged 6.19%. For buyers targeting Highland's more common $1M–$1.5M range and financing with a jumbo loan at 7.25%, the payment difference is even larger — a $1.2M purchase with 20% down at 7.25% runs roughly $6,550 per month in principal and interest alone.
Are sellers in Highland cutting prices before closing? ▾
Yes, though the data only reliably tracks this from May 2026 onward. In May, 6 of the 23 closings involved a prior price reduction before going under contract. That's about 26% of closings — a meaningful share that suggests some sellers are having to adjust expectations after initial pricing. Homes in Highland Hills, for example, had a median days on market of 54 in May, indicating that even in an active neighborhood, overpriced listings are waiting for buyers.
Number of Listings
Active inventory · new listings · sold per month
Listing Prices
Active median list · new median list · sold median sale
Absorption Rate
Months of supply — active inventory ÷ monthly sold rate
Sale-to-List Ratio
Close price ÷ list price — buyer/seller leverage
Days on Market
Median days from listing to under contract
Price Volume
Total dollar volume — active · new · sold per month
May 2026 cohort breakdown
Distribution of what closed last month — by price band, sale-vs-list outcome, and top subdivisions.
How sales priced vs asking
23 sold homes that had a list price recorded
Days on market spread
Quartile distribution
Median 16 · 25th percentile 9 · 75th percentile 54
Needed a price change
Sold listings that had a recorded price change before close
7 of 23 sold homes had at least one price change while listed. Lower = sellers are pricing right the first time.
Sales by price band
Closed-price bucket → sold count and median days to contract
Top subdivisions this month
Ranked by closed count
- 1. Highland Hills 3 sold · $827K · 54d
- 2. Green 2 sold · $945K · 69d
- 3. Alpine Country 2 sold · $820K · 41d
- 4. Skye Estates 1 sold · $2,450K · 0d
- 5. Diamond Meadows 1 sold · $1,790K · 12d
May 2026 by property type
How each housing type performed last month — 21 closings total across subtypes.
Summary Statistics
| Metric | May-26 | May-25 | % Chg | 2026 YTD | 2025 YTD | % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sold Count | 23 | 13 | +76.92% | 68 | 74 | -8.11% |
| Median Sale Price | $850,000 | $881,000 | -3.52% | $928,277 | $806,414 | +15.11% |
| Median DOM | 16 | 5 | +220.00% | 28 | 39 | -28.21% |
| Sale-to-List Ratio | 97.79% | 98.93% | -1.15% | 97.96% | 98.94% | -0.99% |
Sources: UtahRealEstate.com and the Washington County Board of Realtors, aggregated by Best Utah Real Estate. Sale-to-list ratio compares closing price to the final list price (post-reduction). Absorption rate = active inventory ÷ monthly sold rate.