Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

Rates are high, but 03801 sellers still have more competition

By Lais F

Real estate, Sea Coast

Here is the number that changes what you should do if you are selling in 03801 right now. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 119 homes for sale in 03801 in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 30.8% from the same period a year before. More homes around you means buyers have more choices. Pricing and prep matter more than they did last year.

CNBC reported the average 30-year mortgage rate at 7.12% on September 23, 2026. Rates that high slow some buyers down. But they did not stop buyers in 03801 entirely. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 101 homes sold in 03801 during those three months. Sales were down 23.5% from a year before, so not every home found a buyer. Still, 129 homes went pending, which tells you demand is still moving.

Prices dipped, but homes that were priced right still sold

The median sale price in 03801 came in at $735,000 for the three months ending July 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is down 16.8% from the same period a year before. That is a real dip, and it is worth paying attention to. At the same time, the average home sold at 99.3% of its list price. Sellers who priced honestly were not giving homes away.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also found that 30.7% of homes in 03801 sold above list price during those three months. That share actually rose 1.9 points from a year before. So even with more competition and higher rates, well-priced homes were still drawing multiple offers.

Speed: more than half went under contract in two weeks

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 51.2% of homes in 03801 went under contract within two weeks of listing in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That share was up 0.4 points from the year before. Buyers are still moving fast when the home and price are right. Homes that sat did so for a reason.

How the other ZIP codes compare

03801 is not the only story in this market. The picture shifts meaningfully depending on where you are. The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked several ZIP codes in the Sea Coast area for the same three months.

03870 stood out. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median sale price of $1,300,000 there, up 37.5% from the same period a year before. Sales volume rose 72.2% year over year. That is a very different story from 03801. Meanwhile, 03840 had 6.3 months of supply, the highest in this market, and homes there sat a median of 50 days.

The story for 03911 comes from websites alone. The Real Estate Data Aggregator has no counts for that ZIP code.

What the national picture adds

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. home prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. Quarter over quarter, prices rose 0.3% from the first to the second quarter of 2026. The Sea Coast market's price movements are their own story, but the national backdrop shows prices are still moving up overall, just slowly.

Realtor.com reported that 20.4% of listings nationally saw a price cut in August 2026. That lines up with what the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows in 03801: more supply, more days on market, and a median price that came down 16.8% year over year. Sellers who hold firm on price in a market with 119 competing homes are taking a real risk.

One more thing worth saying: the numbers above cover all of 03801. One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. A block with fewer competing homes, or a price point where buyers are more active, can shift your result meaningfully. That is the part the data alone cannot tell you.