Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

More Boston sellers are showing up, but one part is still moving fast

By Mike

Real estate, Boston, MA

Here is the one thing that changes what you should do right now. Redfin counted 12,830 home sellers in Boston in September 2026, against 11,946 buyers. That is a 7.4% seller surplus, according to Redfin. More sellers means more competition for your listing. Pricing and preparation matter more than they did a year ago.

These numbers cover the three months ending August 31, 2026, plus Redfin and Realtor.com data through mid-October 2026.

Supply is up, but speed tells a different story

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 147 homes for sale in ZIP 02127, up 34.9% from a year before. That sounds like a slow market. But the median days on market there fell to 28 days, 7 days shorter than the same period in 2025. More homes came to market, and buyers still moved fast on the ones they wanted.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also shows that 20% of homes in 02127 went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share dipped 4.2 points from a year before, a small admission that not every home is snapped up instantly. Still, nearly 1 in 5 listings found a buyer in two weeks.

Nearby ZIP codes tell different stories

ZIP 02128 is close by, and the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows an even quicker pace there. Median days on market was 26 days, 9 days shorter than a year before. Nearly 3 in 10 homes, 28.8%, went under contract within two weeks. Homes sold rose 22.8%, and new listings rose 23.8%. More supply came in, and buyers absorbed it.

ZIP 02110 is a different picture. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 60 homes for sale there, down 10.4% from a year before. Median days on market was 54 days, 9 days longer than a year before. Homes sold jumped 72%, and the median sale price rose 24.8% to $1,660,000. More sales, but homes took longer to find their buyer.

ZIP 02111 had 53 homes for sale, up 29.3%. Median days on market was 57 days, though that was 6 days shorter than a year before. New listings rose 40%. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows no homes in 02111 sold above list price in this period, down 4 points from a year before. More supply, and buyers there are not in a rush.

What the wider market adds

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026, the first time since January 2025. That matters because higher rates slow some buyers down. Realtor.com also reported that the median home price in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area was $784,778, and that days on market across Boston increased 6 days compared with September 2025.

Nationally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, and 0.3% from the prior month in July, seasonally adjusted. Redfin reported that the national median home-sale price rose just 0.5% year over year, the slowest growth since March. Boston is holding up better than the national picture.

One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. The numbers above are medians and averages. Your block, your building type, your price point, all of those can shift the picture.