Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

Auburn prices kept rising, even with 7.12% mortgage rates

By Lais F

Real estate, Auburn, NH

CNBC reported the average 30-year mortgage rate hit 7.12% on September 23, 2026. Rates that high usually cool prices. In Auburn, they did not. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median sale price in ZIP 03032 rose 6.7% in the three months ending July 31, 2026. If you are selling, that tells you serious buyers are still paying up here.

For context, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. home prices rose just 2.1% year over year through Q2 2026. Auburn's 6.7% gain is more than three times that. This is a local story, not a national one.

Supply fell hard, and buyers felt it

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 14 homes for sale in ZIP 03032 during those three months. That is down 53.3% from the same period a year before. With so few choices, buyers had little room to wait.

At 1.4 months of supply, there is almost nothing to choose from. A balanced market sits around six months. Auburn is nowhere near that. When supply is this tight, sellers hold the upper hand on price.

Buyers moved fast, and most paid over asking

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the average Auburn home sold for 102.4% of its list price in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 1.5 points from a year before. Nearly 4 in 10 homes, 36.7%, sold above list price. That share is down 9.1 points from last year, so not every home sparked a bidding war. But the ones that were priced well still did.

Speed tells the same story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 59.3% of Auburn homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share jumped 17.2 points from a year before. More than half of all listings did not last two weeks on the market.

More buyers showed up, and more sellers did too

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 30 homes sold in ZIP 03032 in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 25% from the same period in 2025. Pending sales rose 42.1% year over year to 27. New listings climbed 28.6% to 27 as well. More people are moving, on both sides.

Nationally, the picture looks different. Realtor.com reported that pending sales across the country turned slightly negative at 0.2% year over year in August 2026. Auburn's 42.1% jump in pending sales stands well apart from that trend.

Rates are real, but Auburn buyers are not walking away

CNBC reported that the ARM share of mortgage applications jumped to 9.8% last week. That means some buyers are taking adjustable rates to make the math work. Even so, Auburn's closed sales rose. The buyers who are here are committed.

Realtor.com noted that 20.4% of listings nationally took a price cut in August 2026. Auburn's sale-to-list ratio of 102.4% tells a different story locally. Price cuts are not the norm here right now.

One more thing: these numbers cover all of ZIP 03032. One street can read very differently from the ZIP code as a whole. Price, condition, and location all shape what a specific home does in this market.