Business

Zillow says housing market accelerated in March despite rising rates

Published

2 hours ago

7 April 2026

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The U.S. housing market accelerated in March despite elevated mortgage rates reducing some of the affordability improvement the market had recently seen, according to a new report.

Zillow released its market report for March which found that newly pending home listings increased 4.6% from a year ago in March.

That increased the number of listings to the second-largest monthly total since the end of the pandemic boom in August 2022, which Zillow said was a positive sign for the market as the home shopping season begins in earnest.

The housing market’s uptick occurred despite mortgage rates increasing from 5.98% at the end of February to 6.38% in late March, according to data from Freddie Mac. Excluding taxes and insurance, the typical mortgage payment increased 1.5% from February, which undercut some of the affordability improvements the market had seen.

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The housing market is showing signs it’s picking up despite mortgage rates rising higher again. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Zillow found that the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home was $1,789 in March, given a 20% down payment, after excluding taxes and insurance. While that figure rose on a monthly basis, it was 4.4% lower than last year, according to the report.

There were 1.23 million homes listed for sale in March. Inventory rose 9.5% from February and active inventory was 4.2% higher than it was a year earlier.

The number of new for sale listings totaled 384,854 in March, an increase of 0.1% from a year ago and 35.6% in February.

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Mortgage rates have risen lately, curbing some of the affordability improvements seen earlier this year. (Getty Images)

Newly pending listings – a figure that measures listings which changed from for sale to pending status rather than closed sales – shows 4.6% growth from a year earlier, and a 29.8% increase over February.

A total of 300,398 homes were sold in March, according to a preliminary reading from the Zillow sales count nowcast. That’s up 3.7% from a year ago and 25.2% from February, though those figures will be revised mid-month.

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The number of homes sold in March was up on both an annual and monthly basis. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Buyers and sellers have been navigating uncertainty and market volatility in some form since the onset of the pandemic, and this month’s concern over energy prices is no different,” said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow. “However, we have persistent signals that the market has turned a corner.”

“Pent-up demand from three years of low sales volume and winter storms in January and February, along with the tailwind from lower mortgage rates earlier in the year, seem to have buoyed the market as home shopping season kicked off. In particular, the rapid acceleration of daily page views per listing we saw in March was a noteworthy improvement over the dormant market of recent years,” Fischer added.

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U POWER LIMITED Achieves Significant Milestone in Revolutionizing Thailand's Heavy-Duty Truck Battery-Swapping Industry

U POWER Limited will launch its Hong Kong taxi battery-swapping operations in Q2 2026. The project aims to enhance commercial vehicle electrification and improve operational efficiency in high-density urban markets.

Hong Kong Taxi Battery-Swapping Operations Expected to Launch Soon

U POWER Limited, a provider of specialized solutions for next-generation energy networks and intelligent transportation systems, announced that, following its securing an order for 1,000 battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks in Thailand and completing production of the first batch of vehicles, its Hong Kong taxi battery-swapping project is also expected to complete station deployment and commence operations in the second quarter of 2026. This development marks a new stage of full commercial rollout for U POWER LIMITED’s battery-swapping business for commercial vehicles across the Asian market.

Successful Validation of Commercial Use Cases Supports Scaled Growth of the Battery-Swapping Model

As one of the earliest technology companies in the industry to invest in the R&D and commercialization of battery-swapping solutions, U POWER LIMITED began promoting its UOTTA battery-swapping model for commercial vehicles in 2020 and achieved proven success in mainland China. After becoming the world’s first publicly listed battery-swapping technology company in 2023, U POWER accelerated its international expansion strategy, entering into partnerships with several major enterprises, including Thailand’s SUSCO (Susco Public Company Limited) and Whale Logistics Group.

In 2025, the company successfully launched a taxi battery-swapping business in Phuket, Thailand, and introduced its UNEX heavy-duty truck battery-swapping project to the Thai market, becoming the first company in overseas markets to achieve scaled commercial operations of battery swapping for commercial transport vehicles.

Further Advancing Hong Kong Taxi Battery-Swapping Project

U POWER LIMITED began laying out its strategy for the Hong Kong taxi battery-swapping market in 2024. In June 2025, the company completed Hong Kong’s first demonstration battery-swapping station capable of commercial operation. Since then, it has continued discussions with taxi industry partners regarding the broader rollout of battery-swapping taxis.

After identifying a vehicle model suitable for the Hong Kong market in October 2024, the company conducted ongoing road-testing and battery-swapping compatibility validation, while completing the relevant certifications in accordance with the Transport Department’s market access requirements for taxi vehicles. According to the company, this batch of battery-swapping taxis has now met the conditions for on-road operation. In parallel with the construction of battery-swapping stations, U POWER is targeting market launch in the second quarter of 2026.

Focused on Commercial Vehicle Battery Swapping and Optimistic About the Hong Kong Market

Li Jia, Founder and CEO of U POWER LIMITED, said that the company has become an undisputed leader in the ecological development and commercialization of battery-swapping solutions for commercial vehicles in overseas markets outside mainland China.

“Leveraging our AI-driven energy management system and standardized battery-swapping infrastructure, we are building an ecosystem for a wide range of commercial battery-swapping vehicles and advancing the electrification of commercial transportation,” Li said.

Li added that Hong Kong is one of the world’s most representative high-density urban transportation markets, where the taxi sector places a strong premium on operating efficiency. Compared with conventional charging, U POWER’s battery-swapping model is therefore better suited to the Hong Kong market.

Property owners do not need to install more land-intensive charging facilities or invest in costly grid upgrades. For taxi operators and fleet managers, there is no need to worry about battery performance degradation or daily battery maintenance, nor about range limitations affecting driver recruitment. In addition, the battery-swapping model can be integrated with a battery banking system, making day-to-day operating costs more economical.

For these reasons, the company believes battery swapping will gain broader acceptance within Hong Kong’s taxi industry, and it will continue working alongside industry stakeholders to support the electrification transition of Hong Kong taxis.

Source : U POWER LIMITED Makes Major Breakthrough in Thailand’s Heavy-Duty Truck Battery-Swapping Market

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