Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

North Shore inventory is up, but buyers still aren't getting a free pass

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon (Scanlon Sells Team)

Real estate, North Shore

Here is the one thing that changes your move right now: inventory is up, and mortgage rates are up too. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 725 homes for sale across North Shore in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is more choice for buyers. But CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate hit 7.30% as of September 30, 2026, with one survey putting it at 7.58% that same week. More homes, higher borrowing costs. Those two things pull in opposite directions, and neither one cancels the other out.

Realtor.com reported that Northeast inventory rose 11.6% year over year as of September 2026. That tracks with what the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows locally. New listings climbed in most ZIP codes. But more listings did not mean slower sales everywhere. Some parts of North Shore are still moving very fast.

Some ZIP codes are still very tight

ZIP 02176 is the tightest pocket the data shows. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 1.2 months of supply there in the three months ending July 31, 2026. Nearly 7 in 10 homes, 69.9% to be exact, sold above list price. The median sale price was $980,000, up 4.8% from the same period in 2025. Homes sat on the market a median of 15 days. And 64.8% went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is not a slow market by any measure.

ZIP 01906 was close behind, with 1.7 months of supply. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 63.3% of homes there selling above list price, and the median days on market was just 17 days, three days shorter than the same period in 2025. Pending sales in 01906 rose 21.9% year over year. Sellers there are still in a strong position.

Where buyers have more breathing room

ZIP 01901 tells a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 6.1 months of supply there, and 0% of homes sold above list price in the three months ending July 31, 2026. Only 4 homes sold. That is a small sample, so one or two deals can move the numbers. But the direction is clear: buyers have more leverage there than in most of North Shore.

ZIP 02150 had 4.9 months of supply, up 2.3 months from a year earlier. Only 30.8% of homes sold above list price, down 8 points year over year. The median sale price was $508,000, up 1.6%. Homes sold faster, a median of 25 days versus 30 days the prior year. So prices held and speed improved, even as supply grew. That is a mixed read, not a buyer's windfall.

ZIP 02152 saw the sharpest price drop in the data. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $634,968, down 13% from the same period in 2025. Homes for sale rose 63%, and months of supply climbed to 4.3 months, up 1.9 months year over year. Pending sales fell 19.7%. That is a real shift. Sellers there need to price carefully.

Above-list sales: still common, but slipping

Across most of North Shore, the share of homes selling above list price fell year over year. That is the clearest sign that buyers have gained some ground. But look at the actual numbers before you call it a buyer's market.

ZIP 01904 had 65.6% of homes sell above list price, up 9.1 points from a year earlier. Its sale-to-list ratio was 102.6%, and months of supply sat at just 2.2 months. The median sale price was $640,000, up 3%. That ZIP did not get the memo about a cooling market.

Prices: mostly holding, a few slipping

Realtor.com reported that the Northeast median list price fell 3.8% year over year as of September 30, 2026. The local picture is more mixed. Some ZIP codes saw prices rise. Others dipped. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. North Shore is not one market; it is a dozen different reads.

Speed: still fast in most places

The share of homes going under contract within two weeks fell in most ZIP codes year over year. That is a real change. But in ZIP 02176, 64.8% of homes still went under contract within two weeks. In ZIP 01904, it was 60.8%, unchanged from a year earlier. In ZIP 01905, 57.4% went that fast, even as the number dipped 9.3 points. Fast is still the norm in most of North Shore.

What this means if you are selling

More competition is real. New listings rose sharply in several ZIP codes, including 01902 (up 49.4%), 01905 (up 49%), and 02176 (up 13.9%). Buyers have more to look at than they did a year ago. Price your home right from day one. Overpriced homes are sitting longer in the ZIP codes where supply has grown most.

The sale-to-list ratio is still above 100% in several ZIP codes, including 01904 at 102.6%, 01905 at 102.5%, 01906 at 102.8%, and 02176 at 107.1%. That means well-priced homes are still drawing offers above asking. The window has not closed. It has just gotten narrower in some spots.

What this means if you are buying

Rates are a real factor. CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.30% as of September 30, 2026. That raises your monthly payment on any given price. More inventory helps, but it does not make up for what higher rates cost you each month. Know your number before you start.

ZIP codes with more supply, like 02150, 02152, and 01901, give you more room to negotiate. ZIP codes with tight supply, like 02176 and 01906, still reward buyers who move fast and come in clean. One ZIP code is not the whole story. One street can read differently from the whole ZIP.