Published October 8, 2026 in Market Update

More choice is showing up in Sea Coast, but buyers are still price sensitive

By Lais F

Real estate, Sea Coast

The one fact that changes what a homeowner should do right now: pricing matters more than it did a year ago. Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price cuts in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is nearly 1 in 5 homes. Here in Sea Coast, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the same pressure showing up in the numbers for the three months ending August 31, 2026.

More homes are sitting on the market

In ZIP 03840, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 39 homes for sale, up 69.6% from a year before. Homes there took a median of 50 days to sell, 13 days longer than the same period in 2025. Sales dropped 43.3% year over year. That is a meaningful shift. More supply, fewer buyers, and longer waits.

ZIP 03801 told a similar story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed inventory up 16.8%, days on market up 12 days to a median of 44, and the median sale price down 7.3% to $790,000. Fewer homes sold too, down 25.2% from a year before.

Not every ZIP code is slowing down

Some parts of Sea Coast held firm. In ZIP 03903, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of just 27 days on market, 14 days shorter than a year before. Homes there sold at 101.4% of list price, and 60% went above asking. In ZIP 03905, 60% of homes also sold above list, at an average of 103.3% of list price. Small sample sizes in both, but the direction is clear: well-priced homes in the right spots still move.

ZIP 03870 had the biggest price jump in the market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $1,326,500, up 39% from a year before. Sales were up 33.3% too. But even there, buyers pushed back a little. The average sale-to-list ratio slipped 3 points, and only 15.6% of homes sold above asking, down 34.4 points from last year.

The national backdrop is pushing in the same direction

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. That is the first time rates have been above 7% since January 2025, according to Realtor.com. Higher rates mean buyers qualify for less. When buyers qualify for less, they push back on price. That is the direct link between what you see nationally and what is happening in Sea Coast.

What this means if you own a home here

Buyers have more to look at now. In ZIP 03840, months of supply hit 7 months, up 4.6 months from a year before, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. In ZIP 03801, months of supply rose to 3.4. When buyers have options, they compare. A home priced a little high no longer gets covered by a lack of choices.

That does not mean the market has stopped. In ZIP 03820, the Real Estate Data Aggregator showed that 54.1% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In ZIP 03824, 52.8% did. Correctly priced homes are still finding buyers quickly.

A few ZIP codes worth watching closely

ZIP 03904 showed some of the most interesting movement. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median sale price of $710,000, up 15% from a year before. Sales were up 3.8%, and 40.7% of homes sold above list, up 9.9 points. At the same time, inventory rose 12.5% and days on market ticked up 3 days to 43. Prices held, but the pace slowed a little.

ZIP 03824 saw a big jump in activity. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 34 homes sold, up 54.5%, with pending sales up 50%. The median sale price rose 4.1% to $713,313. But homes took 15 days longer to sell than a year before, and the share selling above list fell 32.9 points. More volume, but buyers are negotiating harder.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator has no numbers for ZIP 03911. The story for that part of the market comes from the website sources alone.