Published October 8, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market sales held steady even with rates above 7%

Here is the one thing that changes how you should think about this market right now. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. Rates that high usually slow sales. In Primary market, they barely did.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,728 homes sold across Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down just 0.3% from the same three months in 2025. Demand did not stop. Higher payments are still a real factor, but closings kept happening.

The market held, but not every ZIP moved the same way

Nationally, the National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August 2026. Primary market's 0.3% dip looks steady by comparison. That gap matters if you are deciding whether to list or wait.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows 3,609 homes for sale across Primary market, down 5.5% from a year ago. Fewer choices for buyers, but sellers are not flooding the market either. New listings edged up 1.9%, so fresh supply is coming in at a steady pace. Pending sales slipped 4.9%, which is worth watching. It means some of the pipeline slowed, even if closings held firm.

Rates above 7%: what that means for your payment

Freddie Mac also put the 15-year fixed rate at 6.60% as of October 1, 2026. That is the alternative some buyers are choosing to keep payments lower. Realtor.com noted that mortgage rates crossed 7% in late September for the first time since January 2025. That crossing point matters because it changes what buyers can afford at any given price.

Nationally, about 21% of U.S. home sellers dropped their asking price during the four weeks ending September 2026, according to Redfin. In Primary market, prices moved in different directions by ZIP. Some ZIPs saw prices rise. Others dipped a little. That split tells you pricing still requires care.

How prices moved across the ZIPs

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows ZIP 86005 with the highest median at $832,700, though that is down 9.5% from a year ago. ZIP 85251 saw the biggest price gain, up 17.8% to $630,000. ZIP 85210 had the steepest drop, down 16.4% to $325,000. Not every ZIP tells the same story.

Speed: some ZIPs moved fast, others took time

ZIP 86004 was the fastest, with a median of just 27 days on market, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is 13 days shorter than a year ago. ZIP 85251 was the slowest at 83 days, and that was 8 days longer than last year. The same rate environment produced very different speeds depending on where a home sits.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also shows that in ZIP 86001, 40.5% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is the highest quick-contract share in Primary market. In ZIP 85138, only 10.8% went under contract that fast. One ZIP's pace is not another ZIP's pace.

Homes selling above list price: where it happened

ZIP 85139 led with 25.6% of homes selling above list, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. ZIP 85016 was at the low end, with just 2.8% selling above list. That wide range shows that pricing strategy matters a great deal, and it varies street by street.

The national picture, for 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. Quarter over quarter, they rose 0.3% from the first to the second quarter of 2026. The National Association of Realtors put the national months' supply at 4.9 months, the highest level in over ten years. Primary market's supply of 3,609 homes for sale is its own number, shaped by its own demand.

Realtor.com noted active listings were up 6.3% nationally from a year ago. In Primary market, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted homes for sale down 5.5% from a year ago. Local supply is tighter than the national headline suggests.

These numbers cover the three months ending August 31, 2026. Your street may look different from the ZIP total. A single block can have its own pace, its own price trend and its own buyer pool. If you want to know where your home sits in this picture, I can show you.