Michiana Housing Market Report — September 2026

The 30-year mortgage rate crossed 7% for the first time since January 2025, reaching 7.03% on September 24. Michiana's home values have not flinched yet: they rose 4–7% over the past year, led by Berrien and Marshall counties (+7.3% each). The typical South Bend home stands at $201,639, up 7.2% year over year — the strongest annual gain among the region's five core cities. Data in this report runs through August 2026 for home values and rents, and covers June through August 2026 for closed sales.

A note on method: as of the August report, closed-sale figures — sale prices, days on market, inventory and homes sold — cover rolling three-month windows, the format Redfin now publishes for city-level data. They are not directly comparable to the single-month figures in reports before August.

The county picture

Berrien and Marshall counties shared the region's largest annual gain at +7.3%, with St. Joseph and Kosciusko counties next at +6.5%. Kosciusko remains the most expensive of the seven at $294,761. LaPorte County again grew slowest, at +4.3%.

Five towns, five stories

• South Bend — a $199,868 median sale price (+8.0% YoY) across 484 sales, the busiest three months of the year so far, with a median 16 days on market. Inventory reached 312 homes, up 28.3% from a year ago; the year-over-year gain has grown in every window since the spring, when listings were running below 2025 levels.
• Mishawaka — the median sale price of $214,758 is still up 15.0% year over year, but it has eased from $231,000 in the April–June window. Sellers received 99.9% of asking price on 171 sales, and inventory (87 homes) was up just 1.8%.
• Elkhart — price growth nearly stalled: the median sale price of $202,866 was up only 1.4% year over year, against +9.4% in the May–July window. Homes still sold quickly (a median 16 days, at 99.4% of list), while inventory rose 14.2% to 99 homes.
• Granger — a $434,712 median sale price (+6.0%) on 169 sales, a median 18 days on market, and inventory of 87 homes, up 13.8%. The region's premium market is holding its prices with more choice for buyers than a year ago.
• Niles, MI — $184,878 median sale price (+4.2% YoY) on 47 sales, a median 35 days on market and 99.7% of list. Inventory jumped 48.8% to 42 homes — a big swing in a small market, and the most room buyers there have had all year.

Rents

Granger led rent growth (+11.0% YoY, to $2,094/month), followed by Elkhart (+7.8%, $1,170) and Michigan City (+7.3%, $1,076). South Bend rents rose 3.0% to $1,298, while Mishawaka (+1.5%, $1,234) and Goshen (+1.3%) barely moved. Goshen remains the least expensive of the region's larger rental markets at $1,068; Zillow has begun tracking Nappanee, at $895, but with too little history yet for a year-over-year comparison.

Rates

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose four weeks running in September — 6.71%, 6.76%, 6.95%, then 7.03% on September 24. That is the first reading at or above 7% since January 2025, more than a full point above February's 5.98% low, and well above the 6.30% of late September 2025. The jump came too late to show up in the closed sales in this report.

What to watch next month

Whether 7% rates begin to cool fall contract activity and, a month or two later, closed prices; whether South Bend's steadily rising inventory slows its 8% price growth; and whether Elkhart's price growth stays near flat. September data lands in the October report.

Sources: Zillow Research (ZHVI home values, ZORI rents), Redfin Data Center (sale prices, inventory, days on market — rolling three-month windows), FRED / Freddie Mac (mortgage rates). Full methodology on the About page.

Town-by-town data

Mortgage rates