Published October 2, 2026 in Market Update

Montclair homes are still moving fast, even with fewer deals closing

By Lena Pesso

Real estate, Montclair

If you own a home in Montclair, or you're trying to buy one, the number that matters most right now is not the price. It's how long homes are sitting. In the three months ending July 31, 2026, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of 17 days on market in ZIP 07042, down 35 days from the same period a year before. In ZIP 07043, the median was 14 days, down 40 days year over year. That kind of drop changes what you need to do to be ready.

Fewer homes closed, but the ones that did moved fast

Across both ZIP codes, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 140 homes sold in Montclair. That's down 5.4% from the same three months in 2025. Fewer deals closed, and that's worth naming honestly. But the pace of the sales that did happen tells a different story.

In ZIP 07042, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 90.2% of homes sold above list price. That share rose 6.1 points from a year before. In ZIP 07043, 93.1% sold above list, up 4.8 points. Those are not flukes. They reflect a pricing strategy common in Montclair: list below expected value to draw multiple offers. A sale at 123.7% or 125.9% of list is not overpaying. It's how these transactions are built.

Rates are higher nationally. Montclair's supply is still very tight.

The National Association of Home Builders reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. That's a real cost, and it's slowing some buyers nationally. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, so values are still moving up across the country, just more slowly.

In Montclair, the supply picture makes those national headwinds feel smaller. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 69 homes for sale across both ZIP codes, down 6.8% from a year before. ZIP 07043 had only 1 month of supply. ZIP 07042 had 1.9 months. When there are that few choices, buyers who are ready tend to move.

The median price numbers need a word of context

ZIP 07042 showed a median sale price of $1,247,500, up 3.5% from the same period in 2025, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. ZIP 07043 showed $1,468,750, down 5.2% year over year. That 5.2% dip is worth understanding before you read too much into it. With only 58 closings in a three-month window, a single high-end home selling or not selling can move the reported median by a wide margin. The sale-to-list ratio and days on market are steadier signals here, and both point in the same direction: sellers have the edge.

Under contract in two weeks: how common is it?

The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked how many homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In ZIP 07042, 42.5% did. That's down 13.7 points from a year before, so it's a little slower than it was. In ZIP 07043, 56.8% went under contract that quickly, nearly unchanged from a year before. More than half of homes in 07043 found a buyer in under two weeks. That's a meaningful fact if you're planning a timeline.

One thing to keep in mind about Montclair's numbers

Montclair covers a wide range of homes. A downtown condo and an Estate Section property are both counted in these numbers. So a town-wide median tells you the shape of the market, not what your specific block will do. The numbers above are a real starting point. What they can't do is replace a look at your street.