Published September 28, 2026 in Market Update

More choice in Livingston, but well-priced homes are still moving

By Lena Pesso

Real estate, Livingston NJ

If you've been watching Livingston and waiting for a little more breathing room, you're seeing it. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 95 homes for sale in ZIP 07039 during the three months ending July 31, 2026. That's up 15.9% from the same period a year before. Realtor.com reported that 20.4% of listings nationally had a price cut in August 2026. More supply and more price cuts in the same season tell the same story: sellers are competing a little harder than they were.

That does not mean the market slowed down across the board. It means it split. The homes that were priced well and prepared moved quickly. The ones that weren't sat. The town-wide average blends both, so it can hide how fast the good listings actually went.

What the numbers measured, three months ending July 31, 2026

The median sale price is a useful starting point, but it measures which homes happened to close, not what every home is worth. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median at $1,300,000 for the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 15% year over year. Fewer homes closed, 104 compared with more a year before, so a shift in the mix of what sold can move that figure. Price per square foot is a steadier read in a market this size.

Speed: the market is still two-speed

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at 19 days for the three months ending July 31, 2026. That's 32 days shorter than the same period a year before. On its face, that sounds like homes are flying. But look at the other side.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 23.2% of homes going under contract within two weeks, down 26.4 points from a year before. That's a big shift. A year ago, roughly half of listings were moving that fast. Now it's closer to one in four. The homes that do move quickly are still moving very quickly. The ones that don't are pulling the average up.

Sellers are still getting above list, but the edge is narrower

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the average sale-to-list ratio at 103.6% for the three months ending July 31, 2026, down 3.8 points from a year before. In Livingston, a ratio above 100% is normal. It usually means the home was listed below expected value to draw competition, a common local strategy. A 103.6% ratio still means most well-priced homes are closing above ask. The tradeoff is that the gap between a strong result and a weak one is wider now than it was.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 57.7% of homes selling above list, down 6.9 points from a year before. That means more than half of closings still went over ask. But nearly 4 in 10 did not. Preparation and pricing are doing more of the work than the market alone.

The national picture adds context

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, and 0.3% quarter over quarter from Q1 to Q2 2026. Livingston's 15% median gain over the same stretch is well above that national pace, though the small number of closings means the median can shift with just a few high-end sales.

Realtor.com reported that national median list prices fell 1.3% year over year in August 2026, even as 20.4% of listings saw a price cut. Livingston's closed prices moved the other direction. That gap between list-price cuts and closed-price gains is exactly what you'd expect in a market where buyers are still competing for the right homes, just not for every home.

One more thing worth saying: ZIP 07039 covers a lot of ground. Riker Hill, Chestnut Hill and other pockets inside Livingston can read very differently from the town-wide numbers. What's true for the ZIP may not be true for your street.