Published November 1, 2026 in Market Update

More homes are selling across the buy box, but inventory is still lower

By Andrew Monaghan

Real estate, Primary buy box (DOTW)

The one fact that changes what you should do right now: Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% as of October 29, 2026. Buyers are still showing up anyway. That tells you pricing and timing still have to be grounded in what your specific ZIP code is doing, not the headline number.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 3,752 homes sold across the buy box in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 2.8% from the same three months in 2025. Demand is holding even with borrowing costs where they are.

At the same time, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows only 4,479 homes for sale, down 8.3% from a year ago. Fewer choices for buyers means well-priced homes still move. It also means sellers who price too high are more exposed, because buyers can see every option clearly.

How each community stacked up

The numbers below are all from the Real Estate Data Aggregator for the three months ending August 31, 2026. Every community reads a little differently.

Where homes went under contract fastest

Speed varied a lot by ZIP. The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked the share of homes that went under contract within two weeks of listing in each area.

Days on market: the range is wide

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows Glendale's 85310 had a median of 46 days on market. Surprise's 85387 was at 97 days. That is more than two months of difference inside the same buy box. Where your home sits in that range shapes everything about your strategy.

The rate picture

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% as of October 29, 2026. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.60% the same week. Those are real costs that buyers are carrying right now.

Nationally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.4% from August 2025 to August 2026. Month over month, prices were up 0.3% in August, seasonally adjusted. The local picture across this buy box is more mixed, with some ZIPs up and others down from a year ago.

Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is a useful reminder: overpriced homes are giving ground across the country, and this market is not immune.

Months of supply: how much runway sellers have

A few ZIPs worth watching closely

Surprise's 85387 sold 468 homes, up 18.8% from a year ago, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. But the median days on market there is 97, up 10 days from last year. Sales volume is growing, but homes are sitting longer. Price matters a lot in that ZIP right now.

Litchfield Park's 85340 saw the biggest jump in sales volume: up 29.1% to 191 homes sold. Months of supply dropped 2.4 months to 4.5, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. More buyers showed up, and the backlog cleared. The median price dipped 5.2%, which likely helped.

Sun City's 85373 had the sharpest price drop in the buy box: down 9.2% to $327,000. Sales fell 23.1%. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows days on market came down 22 days, which is encouraging, but the price and volume trend there deserves a close look if you own in that ZIP.

Peoria's 85383 was one of the stronger price stories: up 1.5% to $660,000, with 388 homes sold and months of supply down 0.7 to 3.9. New River's 85087 saw sales jump 23.5%, but the sale-to-list ratio slipped to 95%, the lowest in the buy box, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

One street inside a ZIP can read very differently from the ZIP as a whole. A neighborhood with newer builds, a different price point, or a particular HOA can move faster or slower than the averages above suggest. If you want to know where your home actually sits, the only way to find out is to look at what sold near you.