Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

Portsmouth prices moved against the national trend

By Lais F

Real estate, Portsmouth, NH

National headlines said prices went up. Portsmouth told a different story. Listing Leads counted a median sale price of $735,000 in ZIP 03801 for the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is down 16.8% from the same three months a year before. Over that same stretch, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year. The gap between those two numbers is the whole point of this post.

A 16.8% drop is not a rounding error. It means a home that would have priced near $883,000 a year ago is now trading closer to $735,000, based on what Listing Leads recorded. That shift matters if you are thinking about what your Portsmouth home is worth today.

More homes, fewer buyers

Supply went up and sales went down. Listing Leads counted 119 homes for sale in 03801 during that period, up 30.8% from a year before. At the same time, homes sold fell to 101, down 23.5%. That combination pushed months of supply to 3.6 months, up 1.5 months from the year before. More choices for buyers usually means less urgency to bid high.

Sellers still got close to their asking price

Here is the part that does not fit the gloomy picture. Listing Leads found that homes in 03801 sold for an average of 99.3% of list price. That is down just 0.1 points from a year before. And 30.7% of homes sold above list price, actually up 1.9 points year over year. So while the median price fell, sellers who priced well still found buyers willing to compete. The market is softer, not broken.

Speed held up better than price

Listing Leads put the median days on market at 34 days in 03801, just 4 days longer than a year before. And 51.2% of homes that went under contract did so within two weeks of listing, up 0.4 points year over year. Buyers are still moving. They are just not paying as much when they do.

What the national numbers miss

Redfin reported that U.S. home prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier in August 2026, the fastest annual growth rate in a year. Realtor.com reported national median list prices fell 1.3% year over year in August 2026. Those two numbers point in different directions, and neither one tells you what is happening on your block in Portsmouth. Local data does.

Borrowing costs are also part of the picture. CNBC reported the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.12% as of September 23, 2026. That rate shapes what buyers can afford, and it affects how many people are shopping at all.

All of these numbers cover the three months ending July 31, 2026, and reflect what Listing Leads counted in ZIP 03801. Your street may look different from the ZIP code average. A block with fewer sales, a different mix of home sizes, or a recent new listing can shift the picture entirely.