Published October 11, 2026 in Market Update

Livingston listings moved faster, but not every home flew off the shelf

By Lena Pesso

Real estate, Livingston NJ

If you are watching Livingston's market right now, the headline number looks encouraging. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of 21 days on market in ZIP 07039 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is 39 days shorter than the same period a year ago. Faster is real. But a few other numbers tell a more complete story.

Days on market measures how long the typical home sat before going under contract. When that number falls sharply, it usually means buyers are moving with more confidence. A drop of 39 days in one year is a meaningful shift, not a rounding error.

The rate backdrop every buyer is feeling

Faster sales are happening even as borrowing costs stay elevated. The National Association of Home Builders reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.86% in September. That same source noted the rate reached 7.40% on October 8. Housing Wire reported on October 10, 2026 that the 10-year yield held at a key 5.35% level. That matters because mortgage rates tend to follow that yield. Buyers are absorbing these costs and still moving. That says something about demand in Livingston specifically.

What sold, and what it sold for

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 115 homes sold in ZIP 07039 during the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 9.4% from the same period in 2025. Fewer closings, but the median sale price held at $1,200,000, unchanged year over year. Prices did not fall just because volume did.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Livingston's flat median fits inside a national picture of modest, steady gains rather than a pullback.

Most homes sold above list, but the share slipped

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that 54.8% of Livingston homes sold above list price in the three months ending August 31, 2026. In this market, a sale-to-list ratio over 100% is common. Sellers often price below expected value intentionally, to draw competing offers. The average sale-to-list ratio came in at 103.2%, which is consistent with that strategy. Both numbers are healthy. Both are also a little lower than a year ago. The above-list share fell 4.3 points, and the ratio itself fell 2.4 points. Not a reversal, but worth knowing.

The number that changes how sellers should prepare

Here is the signal that deserves the most attention. The share of homes that went under contract within two weeks of listing was 22.6% for the three months ending August 31, 2026, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. A year earlier, that share was 16.2 points higher. That is a large drop. It means the pool of homes going under contract in the first two weeks shrank noticeably. The median still fell to 21 days, so the typical home moved reasonably well. But the quick-pending group is smaller than it was.

What that means in practice: a well-prepared, correctly priced home can still move in under two weeks. A home that needs work or carries a stretched price is less likely to land in that group than it was a year ago. The gap between the two speeds is wider now.

Supply stayed tight

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 65 homes for sale in ZIP 07039 during the period, down 7.1% from a year ago. New listings came in at 114, up 7.5% year over year. More sellers listed, but inventory still stayed lean. At 1.7 months of supply, unchanged from a year ago, buyers do not have a lot of options to choose from. That is part of why prices held steady even as volume fell.

One more thing worth naming: these are ZIP-code numbers. A street near Riker Hill or in a newer construction pocket can read very differently from the 07039 average. The numbers above set the frame. Your specific block fills it in.