Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

Sea Coast has more room for buyers now

By Vladimir Babic

Real estate, Sea Coast

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. That is the single biggest reason buyers are taking their time right now. When borrowing costs are this high, buyers do the math carefully. They compare every home. They walk away from anything that feels overpriced.

At the same time, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 119 homes for sale in ZIP 03801 in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 30.8% from the same months in 2025. More supply plus cautious buyers equals a market where sellers have to earn the sale.

What the numbers show across Sea Coast

The market is not one story. It is several, depending on where you are. Some ZIP codes are still moving fast. Others have slowed. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

Portsmouth area (03801): more homes, lower prices

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 101 homes sold in ZIP 03801 in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is down 23.5% from the same period in 2025. The median sale price fell 16.8%, to $735,000. Homes sat on the market a median of 34 days, four days longer than a year before.

Not every home struggled. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 51.2% of homes in 03801 went under contract within two weeks of listing. If a home is priced right and shows well, buyers still move on it.

Dover area (03820): prices up, but homes taking longer

ZIP 03820 tells a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 108 homes sold in the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 3.8% from 2025. The median sale price rose 12.2%, to $602,214. That is a real gain. But homes took a median of 33 days to sell, 11 days longer than the same period last year. Buyers are still buying, but they are not rushing.

York area (03909): fewer homes, faster sales

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 78 homes sold in ZIP 03909 in the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 8.3% from 2025. Homes for sale dropped 43.3%, to 59. Less supply helped sellers: the median days on market fell 16 days, to 36. The median sale price dipped 5.1%, to $777,500, but the sale-to-list ratio held at 99.4%.

Rye area (03870): big price gains, but fewer bidding wars

ZIP 03870 saw the Real Estate Data Aggregator record a median sale price of $1,300,000, up 37.5% from 2025. Sales volume jumped too, up 72.2% to 31 homes. But the share of homes that sold above list price fell 21.8 points, to 22.6%. Buyers are still paying close to list, but the frenzy has cooled.

A few smaller ZIP codes worth knowing

ZIP 03840 had the most supply pressure. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 6.3 months of supply there, up 2.8 months from 2025, with a median of 50 days on market. That is the longest wait in this market. Sellers there need to be patient and priced well.

ZIP 03903 moved the fastest. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at just 13, which was 26 days shorter than 2025. Sixty percent of homes sold above list price, up 26.7 points. Small ZIP code, but a competitive one.

ZIP 03823 had 75% of homes go under contract within two weeks of listing, the highest share in the market, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Only 9 homes sold, so the sample is small. But the speed is real.

ZIP 03911 has no Real Estate Data Aggregator counts for this period. The picture there comes from the wider market context alone.

The broader picture

It is not just Sea Coast. Realtor.com reported that median list prices fell 1.3% year over year in August 2026 nationally. Realtor.com also found that 20.4% of listings saw a price cut that month. Buyers have more options and more leverage in many markets right now.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. Prices are still moving up nationally, just more slowly. Sea Coast reflects that same tension: some pockets are strong, others are softer.

One more thing worth saying: the numbers above cover whole ZIP codes. One street can read very differently from the ZIP code it sits in. A block with recent sales, a popular school zone, or a tight inventory of a specific home type can behave like a different market entirely.