Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

More listings are not slowing this market down everywhere

By Tamika R. Johnson, MBA, Associate Broker

Real estate, Primary market

More choice does not automatically mean more negotiating power. That is the real story in this market right now.

The National Association of Realtors counted 1.60 million homes for sale across the country in September 2026. Locally, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,994 homes for sale and 1,798 pending sales across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Those two numbers are close. That tells you buyers are still active, even with more homes to choose from.

But here is the part that matters. The market is not one thing. Some ZIP codes are still firmly in seller territory. Others have softened. Your plan should be built around your specific address, not the overall count.

Months of supply: the number that separates the two stories

Months of supply tells you how long it would take to sell every home currently listed, at the current pace of sales. Under four months generally favors sellers. Above six months generally favors buyers. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows a wide spread across this market in the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Oxon Hill (20745) is the softest part of the market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 7.8 months of supply there, up 2.9 months from the same period last year. Homes for sale jumped 38.1% year over year. That is a meaningful shift.

Washington DC (20020) sits at 7.0 months of supply, but the picture there is more complicated. Homes sold jumped 34.4% year over year, and pending sales rose 16.7%. Supply is high, but so is buyer activity. It is not a stalled market.

Where sellers still hold the edge

Several ZIP codes are running well under four months of supply. Those markets are tighter, and the data on above-list sales confirms it.

Waldorf (20603) is worth pausing on. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows 51.2% of homes there sold above list price. That is the highest share in the Primary market. The sale-to-list ratio hit 101.8%. Homes sold jumped 38.9% year over year. Prices dipped 3.1%, but buyers are still competing. A small price dip with strong competition usually means the previous price point was the problem, not the demand.

Speed: who is going fast and who is sitting

Days on market is another way to read buyer urgency. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows Laurel (20708) moving fastest, with a median of 33 days. White Plains (20695) is the slowest at 71 days, up 13 days from last year.

Lanham (20706) is worth a closer look. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows a median of 40 days, unchanged from a year ago. Days held flat while 47.6% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is the highest two-week contract rate in the Primary market. Prices dipped 8.6% year over year, but buyer urgency did not follow prices down. That gap between price and speed is a signal worth paying attention to.

The national picture, and what it means here

The National Association of Realtors reported 3.99 million existing-home sales nationally in September 2026, with prices up 1.3% year over year. That is a modest but steady national market. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. Realtor.com reported the average mortgage rate on the market at 7.40% as of the same date.

Rates above 7% slow some buyers. Realtor.com reported September pending home sales were down 11.3% year over year nationally. That pressure is real. But in several ZIP codes in this market, buyers are still competing and still going over list price. Rates matter, but they are not the whole story.

The ZIP codes that shifted the most

A few ZIP codes saw the biggest year-over-year changes in how quickly homes went under contract. Those swings tell you where conditions changed most from 2025.

Churchton (20733) jumped 23.2 points in its two-week contract rate. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 70.6% of homes there going under contract within two weeks in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is a small market by volume, only 14 homes sold, but the pace is real.

On the other side, Bowie (20720) dropped 15 points in its two-week rate. Days on market stretched to 61, up 24 days from the same period last year. That is the largest year-over-year jump in days on market across the Primary market. Price dropped 6%. Listings fell 18%. Fewer homes came on, fewer sold fast. That is a market asking sellers to be patient and precise on price.

What this means if you are thinking about selling

More inventory nationally does not mean your ZIP code has too much supply. In most of this market, supply is still under four months. That is still seller-friendly territory.

But the gaps between ZIP codes are wide enough that a single market strategy does not fit everyone. A seller in Waldorf (20603) is in a different position than a seller in Oxon Hill (20745) or Bowie (20720). The data says so clearly.

One street can read differently from the whole ZIP code. If you want to know where your specific address sits, that is a conversation worth having before you pick a price.