Published October 7, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market has more listings, but supply is still tight

By Betsy Wilson

Real estate, Primary market

Here is the number that matters most right now. The National Association of Realtors put U.S. supply at 4.9 months as of October 7, 2026. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 315 homes for sale across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 15.4% from a year before. Even so, no ZIP code in this market comes close to that national level. Supply here is tight, and that affects every decision a buyer or seller makes.

More listings are showing up. That is true. But the National Association of Realtors says the U.S. is at 4.9 months of supply. The tightest ZIP code here, 01760, sat at just 1.1 months, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. The loosest, 01702 and 02458, reached only 2 months each. That gap is large, and it still favors sellers in most parts of this market.

Homes are still selling fast. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that the median days on market across the individual ZIPs ranged from 19 to 34 days in the three months ending August 31, 2026. ZIP 01760, 01701 and 01721 each sat at 19 days. ZIP 02458 took the longest at 34 days, which was 11 days more than a year before. Not every home sold quickly, but most did.

Prices moved in different directions depending on where you look. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed ZIP 02458 at a median sale price of $1,705,000, up 8.3% from a year before. ZIP 01721 rose 5.5% to $715,000. But ZIP 02453 fell 7.3% to $834,000, and ZIP 01702 dropped 5.5% to $604,500. Prices dipped in more ZIPs than they rose. That is worth knowing before you pick a number.

Buyers are still competing. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 61.7% of homes in ZIP 01721 sold above list price. ZIP 01701 was close behind at 56.6%. Even in ZIP 02458, where prices are highest, 30% of homes sold above list. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. That rate is not making things easier for buyers who are already stretching.

The Primary market added 550 new listings in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 4% from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. But that gain was uneven. ZIP 01721 saw new listings jump 52.1%. ZIP 02458 saw them fall 28.6%. More supply is coming in some places and shrinking in others. Buyers searching in only one ZIP may find fewer choices than the market-wide number suggests.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 577 homes sold across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 4.2% from the same period in 2025. Pending sales reached 464, up 2.2%. Demand held up even as rates stayed high. Zillow reported that newly pending sales nationally fell 8.5% year over year in September. This market held steadier than that.