Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

Greater Lowell had more listings and more deals at the same time

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon (Scanlon Sells Team)

Real estate, Greater Lowell

The one fact that changes what you should do right now: more homes came to market in Greater Lowell and buyers absorbed them anyway. That is not what most sellers expect to hear when rates are this high.

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time since January 2025. That is real headwind. But the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 981 new listings across Greater Lowell in the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 10.6% from the same months of 2025. More supply came in, and demand did not flinch.

Pending sales tell you where demand is going, not where it has been. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 880 pending sales across Greater Lowell in those same three months, up 15% from a year before. Listings rose 10.6%. Pending sales rose 15%. Buyers outran the new supply.

What this means if you are selling

More competition is real. Homes for sale across Greater Lowell rose 17.3%, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is not nothing. Days on market crept up in most ZIP codes, and some areas saw the share of homes selling above list price slip. Honest admission: it is not as frictionless as it was a year ago.

But buyers are still moving. Realtor.com also reported that median list prices fell 3.8% year over year across the Northeast region. Greater Lowell did not follow that script in every ZIP code, and the pending sales number shows why. Price and presentation still matter here.

What this means if you are buying

You have a bit more to look at than you did last year. But do not mistake more listings for less competition. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that across most ZIP codes here, homes still sell above list price more often than not. Rates above 7% (Realtor.com) are a real cost. Plan around them, not against them.

How each ZIP code looked

Greater Lowell covers a lot of ground. Lowell's own neighborhoods, Chelmsford, Dracut, Billerica, Tewksbury, Westford, Littleton and the towns around them each read differently. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted, ZIP by ZIP, for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

A few things jump out. ZIP 01460, which covers Littleton, shows a median price down 22.4%, but the Real Estate Data Aggregator also counted homes sold there up 85% and pending sales up 66.7%. A big jump in volume can shift the median. ZIP 01850 in Lowell shows a median up 17.8% on just 25 sales. Small sample sizes move numbers.

Speed: how fast did homes go under contract?

ZIP 01824, which covers much of Chelmsford, had 74.4% of homes go under contract within two weeks, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is the fastest ZIP in this group. ZIP 01852 in Lowell was the slowest at 46.5%, with days on market running 25 days, the longest of any ZIP here.

Are buyers still paying over list?

Yes, in most ZIP codes. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that in ZIP 01824, 71.3% of homes sold above list price. ZIP 01821 came in at 70.1%. Even ZIP 01852, the softest ZIP by several measures, still had 49.5% of homes sell above list. The sale-to-list ratio stayed above 100% in every single ZIP code we track here.

Supply: where did inventory grow the most?

North Chelmsford (01863) saw homes for sale double year over year. Tewksbury (01876) was up 81%. That is real added competition for sellers in those areas. On the other side, ZIP 01862 in North Billerica saw homes for sale fall 40%, and ZIP 01886 in Westford dropped 22.6%. Less supply, more pressure on buyers.

The broader picture

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit their highest September readings since 2018 nationally. Greater Lowell is not immune to national pressure, but the pending sales number here, up 15%, tells a different local story than the national headlines.

One more thing: these are ZIP code numbers. One street inside a ZIP can read very differently from the whole. A home near D.W. Field Park in one town and one on a quiet cul-de-sac in Chelmsford are not the same market, even if they share a ZIP. The numbers here are a starting point, not a finish line.