Published September 25, 2026 in Market Update

Boston has more choices, but homes are still moving

By Vladimir Babic

Real estate, Boston

Here is the one thing every Boston homeowner should know right now: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 457 homes for sale across Boston in the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 25.9% from the same period a year before. More choices for buyers means more competition for sellers. That is the shift.

But here is what keeps this from being bad news: the Real Estate Data Aggregator also counted 478 pending sales across those same ZIP codes in that same period, up 5.5% year over year. Buyers are still moving. Homes priced and prepared well are still getting contracts.

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.03% on September 24, 2026. That rate keeps some buyers on the sideline. But it has not stopped the market from closing deals. The buyers who are active are serious.

What the ZIP codes show

The story changes a lot depending on where you are. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 02129 as the tightest ZIP in this group. The median sale price there reached $1,215,450, up 15.8% from a year before. Homes sold in a median of just 16 days. The average sale price came in at 101.7% of list, meaning sellers were getting more than they asked. And 56.1% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing.

On the other end, ZIP 02113 saw only 14 homes sold, down 50% from a year before. The median sale price there fell 18.2% to $570,000. Months of supply climbed to 5.3, up 3.2 months from last year. That is a very different market from 02129, just a few minutes away.

Where prices moved up and where they dipped

Not every ZIP saw prices rise. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median sale price in 02145 fell 13.5% year over year to $900,000, and 02113 fell 18.2% to $570,000. Meanwhile, 02129 rose 15.8% and 02149 rose 9.4%. That range tells you this is not one market. It is several, sitting side by side.

Realtor.com reported the Boston median list price in August 2026 at $795,000, with days on market up 6 days from a year before. That lines up with what the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows: homes are still selling, but buyers have a little more time to decide than they did last year.

Speed: some ZIPs are still very fast

In 02129, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of just 16 days on market. In 02143, it was 22 days. In 02149, 23 days. These are not slow markets. But 02141 sat at 37 days, 14 days longer than a year before. Speed depends heavily on which street you are on.

The rental picture nearby

Realtor.com reported the median asking rent in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at $2,959 in August 2026, down 2.4% from a year before. Rents softening a little can nudge some renters toward buying, which supports demand. But at a 7.03% rate (Freddie Mac), the math is still a stretch for many.

One more thing worth knowing: the numbers above cover whole ZIP codes. One street inside a ZIP can read very differently from the ZIP average. A building type, a school boundary, or a block's condition can shift the picture. If you want to know what is happening on your specific street, that is the conversation worth having.