Published October 13, 2026 in Market Update

MetroWest inventory rose 25.6%, but buyers are still absorbing it

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon

Real estate, MetroWest

The one number that changes what sellers should do right now: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 334 homes for sale across MetroWest in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 25.6% from a year before. More competition means pricing and preparation matter more than they did last year. But here is the honest read: pending sales across the same ZIP codes rose 2.5% over the same period. Buyers are still out there. They are just pickier.

Realtor.com reported that active listings nationally grew to 1.16 million homes for sale year over year, so MetroWest is moving with the national tide. But national context only goes so far. What matters here is that even with more supply, buyers did not disappear. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 501 pending sales across MetroWest, up 2.5%. That is not a stalled market. It is a market where the homes priced and presented well are still going.

Rates are real, and they are a headwind

CNBC reported that the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage with a conforming loan balance rose to 7.49% as of October 7, 2026. Realtor.com noted that rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. That is a real cost for buyers. Redfin reported that 14.5% of homebuying deals fell through in September, the highest share in their records, and that mortgage rates climbing above 7% priced out would-be buyers. None of that is invisible here. It is part of why days on market are ticking up across most ZIP codes.

Realtor.com put price cuts at 20.8% of listings nationally in September, the highest share since October 2022. MetroWest is not immune. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose just 2.6% year over year through July 2026, and only 0.3% from the prior month. Modest, not alarming. But the direction of travel for sellers is clear: the days of listing at any number and waiting for offers are less common now.

What the ZIP codes actually show

The Real Estate Data Aggregator numbers for the three months ending August 31, 2026 tell a split story across MetroWest. Some ZIP codes are still very fast. Others are showing real softening. Here is where each one sits.

The fast end: 02452, 02451, 02478

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of just 16 days on market in ZIP 02452 and 19 days in ZIP 02478. ZIP 02451 clocked 20 days, and it was the only ZIP code where days on market actually fell, down 1 day from last year. In 02478, 59.1% of homes sold above list price, up 7.7 points from a year ago. That is the strongest above-list share in the area. ZIP 02452 had the lowest months of supply at 3.5 months (though that is up 2.5 months from last year, the biggest jump of any ZIP). Speed is still real here. But the supply shift in 02452 is worth watching.

The slower end: 02493 and 01778

ZIP 02493 is a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of 44 days on market there, up 19 days from a year ago. That is the longest wait in MetroWest by a wide margin. The median sale price was $2,489,500, and only 22.2% of homes sold above list, down 7.4 points. Just 14.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks, down 9.4 points. This is a high-price ZIP where buyers are taking their time and they have more room to do so. ZIP 01778 also slowed, with a median of 25 days on market, up 4 days, and months of supply rising to 2.1.

A bright spot: 01773

ZIP 01773 had the strongest price growth of any ZIP in MetroWest. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $1,550,000, up 12.3% from a year ago. The sale-to-list ratio was 102.1%, and 57.1% of homes sold above list, up 7.1 points. Two in three homes went under contract within two weeks. New listings fell 21.1%, so supply stayed tight. That combination, rising prices, strong above-list share, fast pace, tells you demand held firm there even as the broader market added inventory.

What this means if you are selling

More inventory means your home has more competition than it did a year ago. That is true across nearly every ZIP code the Real Estate Data Aggregator tracks here. The sale-to-list ratio slipped in most ZIP codes, and the share of homes selling above list fell in most areas too. None of that means homes are not selling. It means the ones that sell fast and over list are the ones priced right and presented well. The ones that sit are giving buyers a reason to wait.

What this means if you are buying

You have more choices than you did a year ago. That is real. But the median days on market in most ZIP codes is still under 25 days, and more than half of homes in several ZIP codes still sell above list. You are not in a market where you can assume everything will sit and negotiate freely. ZIP 02493 is the exception. Everywhere else, well-priced homes are still moving in three weeks or less.

One last note: these are ZIP-code-level numbers. One street, one price range, one home condition can read very differently from the ZIP average. If you want to know where your specific address sits in this data, the close is right below.