Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

Montclair stayed competitive, even as national price cuts rose

By Lena Pesso

Real estate, Montclair

You may have seen headlines about sellers cutting prices. Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price cuts in September, the highest share since October 2022. Montclair told a different story in the three months ending July 31, 2026.

Before we get into the numbers, one thing is worth saying plainly. In Montclair, list price is often set below expected value on purpose. Sellers and their agents use that to draw multiple offers. So when you see a sale-to-list ratio above 100%, it usually means the strategy worked, not that a buyer overpaid.

How much above list did homes actually sell?

In ZIP 07042, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 82 homes sold in those three months. Of those, 90.2% closed above list price. The average sale came in at 123.7% of list, up 4.1 points from the same period a year before.

In ZIP 07043, 58 homes sold. There, 93.1% closed above list price. The average sale-to-list ratio was 125.9%, up 2 points year over year. Both ratios moved higher even as the national share of price cuts rose.

What the median sale price is, and what it is not

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in 07042 at $1,247,500, up 3.5% from a year before. In 07043, the median was $1,468,750, down 5.2% year over year.

That 5.2% dip in 07043 is worth reading carefully. Montclair's price range is wide. A few high-end closings more or fewer in a given quarter can move the median without the underlying market actually shifting. The sale-to-list ratio and days on market are steadier signals, and both point to a market that stayed competitive.

How fast did homes move?

Speed is one of the clearest signs of demand. In 07042, the Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at 17 days, 35 days shorter than the same period last year. In 07043, it was 14 days, 40 days shorter.

Not every home moved that fast. In 07042, 42.5% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In 07043, that share was 56.8%. The town-wide median blends the quick ones and the slower ones together. A well-prepared, correctly priced home tends to land in the faster group.

How tight is the supply?

Months of supply measures how long it would take to sell every home currently listed, at the current pace of sales. Below three months generally signals a seller's market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1.9 months of supply in 07042 and 1 month in 07043 for the three months ending July 31, 2026. Both were unchanged from a year before.

Across both ZIPs combined, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 69 homes for sale, down 6.8% from a year earlier, and 134 new listings came to market, down 2.9%. Fewer choices for buyers tends to keep competition steady.

The national backdrop

Nationally, the picture is more mixed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, and 0.3% from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis. But Realtor.com also reported that mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025, which is putting pressure on affordability in many markets.

That pressure shows up in the national price-cut data. Realtor.com counted 20.8% of listings with price cuts in September, and active listings nationally topped 1.16 million homes. Montclair's supply stayed far tighter than that, which is one reason the local dynamic looked different.

One more thing worth knowing. Both ZIPs cover a wide range of homes, from condos to large single-family properties. A block near the train can read very differently from one near the Upper Montclair border. The ZIP-level numbers above are real, but your street may sit above or below them.