The clearest divide across the region this summer runs along the price ladder. Some of the area’s most expensive submarkets — El Dorado Hills and Folsom — recorded the steepest year-over-year price declines, while more modestly priced communities such as Orangevale held their gains and even added value. Yet buyers showed up nearly everywhere: seven of the eight cities tracked posted higher sales volume than a year earlier, according to Redfin data for the three months ending August 2026. The result is a market where falling prices in the upper tier coincided with rising transaction counts across the board.
The backdrop was a mortgage market that grew slightly more expensive over the summer. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.67% in August 2026, up from 6.54% in July 2026 and modestly above the 6.59% averaged in August 2025, according to Freddie Mac data published by the Federal Reserve. The 15-year fixed averaged 5.97% in August 2026, compared with 5.71% a year earlier. Nationally, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was higher in its latest reading than a year earlier, a contrast to the price softness seen in several of the region’s more expensive cities.
Prices: El Dorado Hills posts the steepest drop
El Dorado Hills recorded the region’s largest year-over-year price decline, with its median sale price of $904,401 down 7.7% from $980,000 a year earlier, according to Redfin. Folsom followed, with its median of $759,497 falling 5.1% from $800,000. Lincoln’s median of $621,089 was down 4.5% from $650,000.
At the other end, several communities posted gains. Orangevale’s median rose 2.4% to $578,617 from $565,000, and Granite Bay climbed 3.5% to $1,374,091 from $1,327,500. Loomis showed the largest percentage increase in the region, with its median up 17.1% to $749,504 from $640,000 a year earlier. That figure warrants caution: Loomis recorded just 19 sales in the period, down from 23 a year earlier, and small sample sizes can produce outsized percentage swings that do not necessarily reflect a broad shift in the local market.
Roseville and Rocklin were essentially flat. Roseville’s median of $645,573 slipped 0.7% from $650,000, and Rocklin’s $715,526 edged down 0.6% from $720,000.
Granite Bay remained the region’s most expensive market by a wide margin at $1,374,091, more than double the least expensive tracked city, Orangevale at $578,617. Lincoln, at $621,089, and Roseville, at $645,573, rounded out the lower end of the price range.
Sales: volume climbed almost everywhere
Sales activity strengthened across nearly the entire region. Rocklin led with 208 homes sold, up 27.6% from 163 a year earlier — the largest percentage gain among cities with meaningful volume. Orangevale was close behind at 104 sales, up 31.6% from 79. Folsom recorded 250 sales, up 21.4% from 206, and El Dorado Hills reached 231 sales, up 16.1% from 199.
The remaining cities also gained. Roseville, the region’s busiest market by transaction count, recorded 554 sales, up 10.4% from 502. Lincoln logged 288 sales, up 11.2% from 259. Granite Bay saw a more modest increase, with 80 sales up 8.1% from 74.
Loomis was the lone exception, with 19 homes sold, down 17.4% from 23 a year earlier — again, a figure drawn from a small sample.
The combination of rising sales and softer prices in the upper-tier markets suggests buyers responded to lower asking prices in El Dorado Hills and Folsom, where the largest price declines coincided with double-digit gains in volume.
Speed and competition: Loomis and Orangevale move fastest
Homes changed hands most quickly in the region’s smaller markets. Loomis had the shortest median time on market at 12 days, down from 26 days a year earlier. Orangevale was next at 18 days, down sharply from 28 days a year ago. Granite Bay stood at 20 days, down from 23.
At the slower end, El Dorado Hills homes took a median of 32 days to sell, unchanged from a year earlier and the longest in the region. Folsom followed at 29 days, up from 26 a year ago — one of the few cities where homes took longer to sell than the prior year. Rocklin held steady at 28 days, matching last year, and Lincoln improved to 28 days from 31. Roseville’s median fell to 23 days from 28.
Competition, measured by the share of homes selling above list price, was strongest in Orangevale, where 42.6% of homes sold above asking and the sale-to-list ratio reached 100.4%. Loomis was similarly competitive, with 36.9% selling above list and a sale-to-list ratio of 100.6% — the highest in the region. Roseville followed at 33.0% above list.
The most expensive markets were the least competitive on this measure. Granite Bay saw just 23.1% of homes sell above list, with a sale-to-list ratio of 98.2%, the lowest of the eight cities. El Dorado Hills was close behind at 22.7% above list. In those markets, buyers more often negotiated below asking, consistent with the price declines recorded there.
Inventory: supply concentrated in the larger markets
Active inventory was heaviest in the region’s higher-volume cities. Roseville led with 977 active listings and 598 new listings during the period. Lincoln followed with 576 active listings and 333 new. El Dorado Hills had 507 active listings against 273 new, and Folsom carried 462 active listings with 287 new.
The smaller markets had far thinner supply. Loomis had just 39 active listings and 24 new during the period, and Granite Bay carried 165 active listings against 95 new. Orangevale, despite its rapid sales pace, had 180 active listings and 113 new. The limited supply in Orangevale, paired with the highest above-list share in the region, points to tight conditions for buyers in that market.
Rents: Granite Bay commands the most, Lincoln the least
Rental costs varied widely across the region, according to Zillow data as of August 31, 2026. Granite Bay had the highest median rent at $3,533 per month, followed by El Dorado Hills at $3,199. At the other end, Lincoln had by far the lowest median rent at $1,308 per month — less than half the Granite Bay figure and well below every other tracked city. Orangevale, at $2,207, was the next lowest.
In the middle tier, Folsom’s median rent was $2,627, Roseville’s was $2,569, and Rocklin’s was $2,478.
Year-over-year rent changes were modest across most of the region. El Dorado Hills posted the largest increase, with its median rent up 5.9% from $3,021 a year earlier. Orangevale followed at 5.1%, rising from $2,100, and Folsom rose 4.2% from $2,522. Rocklin’s rent increased 2.8% from $2,412, and Lincoln’s rose 2.0% from $1,282. Roseville saw the smallest change, with its median rent up 0.7% from $2,552. Year-ago rent data was not available for Granite Bay, so no direction is characterized there.
The relationship between rents and home prices differed sharply by city. Lincoln stands out: despite a median sale price of $621,089 — in the middle of the region’s range — its median rent of $1,308 was the lowest of any tracked city, suggesting renting is comparatively inexpensive relative to buying there. By contrast, Granite Bay pairs the region’s highest home price of $1,374,091 with its highest rent of $3,533, keeping both ownership and rental costs at the top of the range.
Orangevale offers a different balance. Its home prices are the lowest in the region at $578,617, yet its rent of $2,207 and the region’s highest above-list share point to strong buyer demand relative to the rental market. El Dorado Hills, where home prices fell 7.7% but rents rose 5.9%, showed the sharpest divergence between the two markets — sale prices moving down while rental costs moved up.
What the numbers show this month
Taken together, the region’s data for the three months ending August 2026 describe a market pulling in two directions by price tier. The most expensive submarkets — El Dorado Hills, Folsom, and Granite Bay by rent — recorded the steepest price cuts or the softest competition, while more affordable communities such as Orangevale and, on a small-sample basis, Loomis held or gained value and sold fastest. Sales volume rose in seven of eight cities, indicating that buyers remained active even as mortgage rates averaged 6.67% in August 2026, modestly above the year-ago figure. On the rental side, Lincoln remained the region’s most affordable place to rent by a wide margin, while Granite Bay topped both the sale-price and rent rankings.