Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

More homes are coming on, but this market is still moving quickly

By Lena Pesso

Real estate, Primary market

If you've been watching this market, you've probably noticed a little more to look at lately. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 940 new listings across the primary market in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That's more choice than buyers had a year ago. But 913 homes went pending in that same window. Supply is growing, and demand is keeping pace.

Nationally, the picture looks looser. The National Association of Realtors put months of supply at 4.9 months, the highest level in over ten years. Here, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 478 homes for sale across the same period. That is a very different story from the national one.

One reason demand holds up even as rates climb: Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. Realtor.com noted rates crossed 7% in late September for the first time since January 2025. That does slow some buyers. But it hasn't stopped the well-prepared ones in this market.

How each ZIP code is moving

The town-wide numbers are useful, but they blend very different streets. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted, ZIP by ZIP, for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

Most ZIPs are sitting at 12 to 23 days. That is fast. ZIP 07021 shows 86 days, but only 5 homes sold there in the period. One or two slower sales can move that number a lot when volume is that low.

Where buyers are paying over list price

Sale-to-list ratios above 100% can sound like a red flag. Here they usually aren't. In this market, sellers often price intentionally below expected value to draw competition. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed ZIP 07042 averaging 123.7% of list price, with 90.2% of homes selling above list. ZIP 07901 averaged 112.1%, with 81.1% above list.

Every single ZIP averaged above list. The range runs from 103.6% in 07039 to 123.7% in 07042. That spread matters when you're setting a price or writing an offer.

How quickly homes went under contract

Days on market is a useful signal, but it blends fast homes with slow ones. A sharper question: what share went under contract within two weeks of listing? The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked that for each ZIP.

ZIP 07078 had 54.8% of homes under contract within two weeks. ZIP 07039 was the slowest at 23.2%, down 26.4 points from a year ago. That shift in 07039 is worth watching. More new listings there, up 11.8%, may be giving buyers a little more room.

Median sale prices, ZIP by ZIP

Median prices here span a wide range. A reminder: in ZIPs where only 20 to 25 homes closed, one or two higher-end sales can move the median noticeably. The number below reflects which homes happened to close, not necessarily a shift in what your specific block is worth.

ZIP 07078, Short Hills, reported a median of $2,550,000, up 10.9% from a year ago. ZIP 07052 came in at $690,000. These are not the same market, even though they sit close together. Treating them as one would misprice expectations on both ends.

Where inventory grew and where it shrank

More listings is good news for buyers, but the change is uneven. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed new listings up 80% in ZIP 07068 and up 40.9% in ZIP 07078. In ZIP 07901, new listings fell 29.8%. In ZIP 07041, they fell 23.5%.

More listings going into a ZIP doesn't automatically mean more time to decide. In ZIP 07068, new listings rose 80% and pending sales rose 108.3%. Buyers absorbed the added supply and then some.

What the national numbers mean for this market

The National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August 2026. Realtor.com noted homes under contract are down 4.1% year over year nationally. Those numbers reflect a broader market where 7%-plus rates are doing real work.

Locally, months of supply tells a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put months of supply at 0.9 months in ZIP 07901 and 1.0 month in both ZIP 07928 and ZIP 07940. The national figure from the National Association of Realtors is 4.9 months. These are not the same market.

Even the highest local figure, 2.8 months in ZIPs 07039 and 07041, is well below the national 4.9. Nationally, Realtor.com reported active listings up 6.3% from a year ago. That's a real shift. Here, the added supply is being absorbed quickly in most ZIPs.

A closer look at four key ZIPs

The scoreboard below pulls four ZIPs with enough sales volume to compare reliably. All figures are from the Real Estate Data Aggregator for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

What this means if you're selling

More listings means buyers have options. That's a fair tradeoff to name out loud. A home that is priced well and shows well still moves fast. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows most well-priced homes here are under contract within two weeks. One that isn't priced to the actual market can sit, and the town-wide average will mask how long.

What this means if you're buying

You have more to look at than a year ago in some ZIPs. That is genuinely good news. But in most of this market, the window between a home listing and going under contract is still short. Freddie Mac put the 30-year rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. That affects your payment, and it's worth running the numbers before you find the home you want.

One more thing worth saying: a ZIP code number is a starting point, not a finish line. One street inside a ZIP can read very differently from the ZIP as a whole. If you want to know what your specific block looks like, that's a different conversation.