Published October 2, 2026 in Market Update

Greater Lowell has more listings, but demand is still outrunning supply

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon (Scanlon Sells Team)

Real estate, Greater Lowell

Here is the headline fact: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 880 pending sales across Greater Lowell in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 15% from the same months of 2025. More homes came on, and buyers kept moving. That is what this market is doing right now.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows 981 new listings across Greater Lowell, up 10.6%. Inventory is up 17.3%. So yes, there is more competition for sellers than a year ago. But pending sales grew faster than new listings. Buyers are not sitting on the sidelines.

Rates are a real headwind. Realtor.com reported mortgage rates topping 7% for the first time since January 2025. CNBC put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.30% on September 30, 2026, with Mortgage News Daily showing a surge to 7.58% that same day. That is a real cost. And buyers here kept signing contracts anyway.

What the regional picture says

Realtor.com reported that median list prices fell 3.8% year over year across the Northeast region. Price cuts hit their highest September readings since 2018, according to Realtor.com. Greater Lowell is not immune to that pressure. But the pending sales number tells you buyers here are still active.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month, they were up 0.3% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis. The broader market is still moving up, slowly.

ZIP by ZIP: prices and pace

Greater Lowell is not one market. Lowell's own neighborhoods, Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Westford and the towns around them each read differently. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted, ZIP by ZIP.

A few of those price drops deserve a plain read. ZIP 01460 (Littleton) shows a 22.4% price drop and an 85% jump in homes sold. When volume surges that much in one period, the mix of what sold shifts. Fewer high-end homes closing, more mid-range ones, and the median falls. It does not mean values collapsed. ZIP 01854 shows a 15.3% drop alongside only a 6.1% rise in sales. That one is worth watching more carefully.

How fast are homes moving?

Every ZIP in Greater Lowell had a median days on market under 26 days. That is not a loose market. ZIP 01460 (Littleton) was fastest at 16 days, and it was the only ZIP where days on market fell year over year, by 4 days. Most other ZIPs were 2 to 3 days slower than last year. Not alarming, but worth noting.

Are homes still selling over asking?

Across the board, the answer is yes. Every ZIP in Greater Lowell averaged a sale-to-list ratio above 100%. That means the average home sold for more than its asking price. Here is how each ZIP stacked up.

ZIP 01824 (Chelmsford) led at 104%. ZIP 01852 (Lowell) was lowest among all ZIPs at 102.2%, still above asking. Realtor.com is reporting price cuts at their highest September level since 2018 nationally. Greater Lowell is not seeing that same dynamic, at least not in these numbers.

Where buyers moved fastest: under contract in two weeks

ZIP 01824 (Chelmsford) had 74.4% of homes under contract within two weeks. ZIP 01879 (Tyngsborough) was close at 72.3%. ZIP 01852 (Lowell) was lowest at 46.5%, down 11.6 points from a year before. That shift in 01852 is real. More supply, slower pace. Still selling, but buyers there have a little more time.

Supply is up, but still thin

ZIP 01876 (Tewksbury) had just 1 month of supply. ZIP 01850 (Lowell) had the most at 2.9 months. Six months is what a balanced market looks like. Every ZIP in Greater Lowell is well below that. More listings came on, and the market absorbed them. That is the story.

A few ZIPs worth a closer look

ZIP 01876 (Tewksbury) had 124 pending sales, up 37.8%, with only 1 month of supply. Homes for sale jumped 81% there, yet buyers kept pace. ZIP 01886 (Westford) had 96 pending sales, up 52.4%, even as the median price dipped 7%. ZIP 01862 (North Billerica) had homes for sale fall 40% while sales rose 30% and the median climbed 8.1%. Very little inventory, strong demand.

North Chelmsford (ZIP 01863) is its own village within Chelmsford. It had homes for sale double year over year, up 100%. Pending sales fell 5%. That is a different read from the rest of Chelmsford (01824), where pending sales fell only 3.2% and 74.4% of homes went under contract within two weeks. Same town, different story by neighborhood.

What this means for homeowners

More competition than last year is real. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows homes for sale up 17.3% across Greater Lowell. Days on market are a little longer in most ZIPs. A few areas show price softness. Those are honest facts.

But 880 pending sales, up 15%, says demand is real too. Homes are still selling above asking in every ZIP. Supply is still well under two months in most of the area. Rates over 7% (Realtor.com) are a headwind for buyers, but they have not stopped the market here.

One more thing: these are ZIP code numbers. One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP. Lowell's Belvidere neighborhood, the Highlands, Pawtucketville and other areas within the city each have their own mix of housing and demand. A single number for a ZIP does not tell your home's story.