(NEXSTAR) — Those waiting for the housing market to cool have seen modest signs of improvement in recent weeks, but a new report suggests it could take even longer before we see a “normal” market again.

In late August, the average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage dropped to 6.56%, its lowest level in 10 months. Still, that’s up from the 6.35% average rate a year ago. Meanwhile, home sales have been sluggish, with some sellers even taking their listings off the market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also revealed that the Trump administration is considering declaring a national housing crisis in the fall to help bring down costs for buyers.

Does that mean the U.S. housing market will return to some level of “normal?” There’s no easy answer to that, experts say, but there are some factors that can indicate how close — or far — we are from that.

What is a “normal” housing market?

In a new analysis, Redfin considered those factors and compared them to what it determined to be a “baseline” year of 2018. Back then, mortgage rates hovered around mid-4% and housing costs were considered “relatively manageable” despite rising prices. The typical household was spending about 30% of their monthly income on their mortgage payment, relatively in line with a common budgeting tip.