Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

Boston has more choice, but buyers are still showing up

By Lais F

Real estate, Boston

Here is the number that matters most if you own a home in Boston right now. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 486 homes sold across the city in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 6.8% from the same three months a year before. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.03% on September 24, 2026. Rates are high, and buyers are still buying.

The big shift is inventory. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 457 homes for sale across these Boston ZIP codes in that same period. That is 25.9% more than a year ago. Buyers have more to choose from. That gives sellers a real reason to price carefully.

Pending sales tell you where things are headed. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 478 pending sales, up 5.5% from a year before. Buyers are not sitting on their hands. They are making decisions. That is a steadying sign for anyone thinking about listing.

What Realtor.com is seeing in Boston

Realtor.com reported a median list price of $795,000 in Boston in August 2026. They also noted that days on market increased by 6 days year over year. Homes are still selling, but they are taking a little longer. That matches what the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows: more supply, buyers with options, and a market that rewards the right price.

The ZIP codes tell different stories

The citywide numbers are one thing. Each ZIP code is its own market. Here is how they compare on median sale price and speed.

Where buyers moved fastest

ZIP 02129 stood out. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 94 homes sold there, up 19% from a year ago. The median sale price was $1,215,450, up 15.8%. Homes went for 101.7% of list price on average, and the median days on market was just 16. More than half of homes, 56.1%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is a ZIP where well-priced homes are moving.

ZIP 02143 also held up well. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 86 homes sold, up 22.9%. Homes sold at 100.9% of list price on average, and 51.2% went under contract within two weeks. The median sale price dipped 6.7% to $1,052,500. More sales, a little less price. That is a market adjusting, not falling.

Where the picture is more mixed

ZIP 02113 had a harder stretch. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 14 homes sold, down 50% from a year ago. The median sale price fell 18.2% to $570,000. Months of supply jumped to 5.3, up 3.2 months from last year. It is a small ZIP with a small number of sales, so one or two deals can move the numbers a lot. But the trend is worth watching.

ZIP 02150 saw sales fall 20.4% to 39 homes. Months of supply rose to 4.9, up 2.3 months. The median sale price edged up 1.6% to $508,000, and homes still sold at 99.8% of list. Buyers are still closing deals there. They just have more choices now.

The broader backdrop

Nationally, the picture has some lift. 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. Separately, Realtor.com reported that 20.4% of listings nationally had price cuts in August 2026. Boston is not immune to that pressure. More supply here means pricing still matters.

On the rental side, Realtor.com reported that the median asking rent in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area was $2,959 in August 2026, down 2.4% from a year before. That is a small dip. For anyone weighing owning versus renting in this market, it is a data point worth knowing.

These are ZIP-wide numbers. Your block, your building type, and your price point can tell a different story. If you want to know what the data says about your specific address, I am happy to walk you through it.