Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

More homes are on the market, but contracts are still getting signed

By Tamika R. Johnson, MBA, Associate Broker

Real estate, Primary buy box (2)

Here is the headline: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,228 homes for sale across this market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 14.8% from the same period a year ago. More choices for buyers. More competition for sellers.

But here is what that number does not tell you: contracts are still being signed. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,314 pending sales across the same ZIP codes in that same period. That is up 0.5% from a year ago. Demand has not left the building.

Nationally, Realtor.com reported that active listings topped 1.16 million homes in September 2026. That is the backdrop. What is happening in your specific ZIP code is a different conversation.

The market is moving, just not at the same speed everywhere

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,234 homes sold across this market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 0.5% from a year ago. Steady, not spectacular. And the variation by ZIP code is significant.

A 22-day median in Columbia 21046 and a 69-day median in Baltimore 21216 are not the same market. They just share the same report.

Inventory is up, but not everywhere

The 14.8% rise in homes for sale is a market-wide average. Some ZIP codes look very different.

Columbia 21046 had 13 homes for sale in the period. That is down 38.1% from a year ago. Buyers there have fewer choices, not more. Columbia 21044 is the opposite: 84 homes for sale, up 47.4%.

Sellers are still getting their price, in most places

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally took a price cut in September 2026. That is the highest share since October 2022. Locally, the sale-to-list numbers tell a more encouraging story, though the gap between ZIP codes is real.

Baltimore 21216 averaged 100.9% of list price. Hyattsville 20784 averaged 98.1%. Both are the same market on paper. In practice, they require different strategies.

Pending sales: the real demand signal

Pending sales show where buyers are actually committing. Some ZIP codes are seeing real momentum.

Suitland 20746 had pending sales up 34.7% year over year. District Heights 20747 was up 13.6%. Temple Hills 20748 was up 4.7%. Buyers are active in those markets. Capitol Heights 20743 pending sales fell 12.4%. Hyattsville 20782 fell 11.6%. Those are different situations.

What about the speed of contracts?

The share of homes going under contract within two weeks of listing is a clean test of real demand. Here is how each ZIP code performed.

Nearly 2 in 3 homes in Columbia 21045 went under contract within two weeks. That is 66.2%. In Hyattsville 20782, that number was 18%. Price your home for the market you are actually in, not the one across the ZIP code line.

The bigger picture: prices and rates

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. The 15-year averaged 6.68%. Realtor.com noted rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. That affects what buyers can afford, which affects what sellers can get.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month in July, prices were up 0.3%. Values are holding nationally, even as more inventory enters the market.

What this means if you are selling

More inventory means buyers have more to compare yours against. That is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to prepare.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,581 new listings across this market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 6.9% from a year ago. More sellers are entering the market. The ones who price correctly and show well are still closing. The ones who do not are sitting.

In Columbia 21044, the sale-to-list ratio was 101.4% and 48.4% of homes sold above list price. In Hyattsville 20784, the sale-to-list ratio was 98.1% and only 26.1% sold above list. Same broad market. Very different outcomes.

One street can read very differently from the ZIP code as a whole. The numbers above are a map, not a verdict on your specific address. Reply and let me take a closer look at what is happening on your block.