Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market sales rose even with fewer listings coming on

By Andrew Monaghan

Real estate, Primary market

The number that matters most right now: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 3,995 homes sold across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 3.5% from the same period a year before. Sales grew even though new listings fell 2.7% to 4,257. Fewer fresh choices, yet more deals closed. That means pricing and timing carry more weight than usual right now.

The National Association of Realtors reported 3.99 million existing-home sales nationally in September 2026. So the pattern here lines up with what is happening across the country. Demand is still moving deals through, even with supply tight.

Rates are the other part of this story

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026. That is a three-year high. The 15-year rate averaged 6.71% the same week. Higher rates raise the cost of every offer a buyer writes. They also keep some would-be sellers in place, which helps explain why new listings here slipped.

How each ZIP code is reading the same market differently

The overall numbers tell one story. Individual ZIP codes tell several. Some are selling faster. Some saw prices dip a little. A few are doing both at once.

ZIP 85335 stood out for speed. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 71 homes sold there, with a median of just 50 days on market. One in four homes, exactly 25%, went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 7.6 points from a year before. Prices dipped a little, down 1.4% to $345,000, but sellers were still getting 99% of list.

ZIP 85378 had the tightest supply in the market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed just 2 months of supply, down 2.2 months from a year before, with only 21 homes for sale. Sales jumped 26.9% to 33 closed deals. Prices slipped a little, down 0.7% to $351,000, but sellers still averaged 97.5% of list.

ZIP 85361 is the one to watch carefully. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median price rose 10.9% to $510,000, but homes took a median of 104 days to sell, 39 days longer than the year before. Not every home here sold fast. Sellers averaged 97.7% of list, down 2 points.

Where prices moved up and where they slipped

Several ZIP codes saw prices edge down from a year before. That is not a collapse. It is the market adjusting to rates and to the homes that are available.

ZIP 85373 saw the sharpest price drop, down 9.2% to $327,000. Sales there also fell 23.1%. But homes sold 22 days faster than a year before. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 66 median days on market. That tells you the homes that did sell were priced to move.

The national picture backs up what we are seeing locally

The National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. existing-home prices were up 1.3% in September 2026. National inventory rose to 1.60 million homes. The broad trend is the same one showing up here: more supply than a year ago in some spots, prices holding or dipping slightly, and deals still getting done.

Realtor.com reported a national median of 61 days on market for the week ending October 10, 2026. Several ZIP codes here are beating that. 85335 is at 50 days. 85083 is at 58 days. 85379 is at 60 days. Pricing well still shortens the wait.

What this means if you are planning a move

Fewer new listings coming on means buyers have less to choose from. That keeps well-priced homes moving. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows homes for sale across the Primary market fell 8.6% from a year before, to 5,003. Supply is tighter even though some ZIP codes saw prices ease.

Sellers who priced accurately are still closing near list. Across most ZIP codes, sale-to-list ratios stayed between 97% and 99.3%. That is a healthy range. It just means there is less room to overprice and hope.