One part of Somerville / Cambridge stayed much tighter than the rest
Most of this market is looser than it was a year ago. But one part is not. That gap matters if you are pricing a home or writing an offer right now.
The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted homes sold and tracked supply across eight ZIP codes for the three months ending July 31, 2026. The spread is wide. ZIP 02139 had just 1.2 months of supply. ZIP 02142 had 6.1 months. Those are not the same market.
How tight is each ZIP code right now?
- 102139 (Cambridge, Area 4 / Cambridgeport)1.2 months
- 202140 (North Cambridge)1.3 months
- 302143 (Somerville, Prospect Hill / Spring Hill)1.9 months
- 402138 (Cambridge, Harvard Square area)2 months
- 502144 (Somerville, Teele / Davis)2.4 months
- 602141 (East Cambridge)3.2 months
- 702145 (Somerville, East Somerville)3.2 months
- 802142 (Cambridge, Kendall / MIT area)6.1 months
ZIP 02139 and ZIP 02140 are the tightest. Supply fell in both from a year before. In 02139, homes for sale dropped 23.9% year over year, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. In 02140, they dropped 34.3%. Fewer homes, same demand. That is a seller's setup.
ZIP 02139: the tightest lane
More than half of homes in 02139 sold above list price, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found. Nearly 6 in 10 went under contract within two weeks of listing. The median sale price was $1,175,000. That price is down 13% from the same period last year, which tells you what sold, not that the market softened. Supply fell sharply while sales volume rose 28.6%. That combination does not point to weakness.
ZIP 02140 is running just as fast
ZIP 02140 had only 23 homes for sale across the full three months, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted. That is a 34.3% drop from a year before. Homes sold 5 days faster. The median sale price was $1,302,000, up 3.3% year over year. This one moved in a clear direction.
The other end: ZIP 02142
ZIP 02142 is a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 5 homes sold in the three months ending July 31, 2026. With 10 homes for sale and 6.1 months of supply, that is the loosest part of this market by a wide margin. The sale-to-list ratio was 96.7%, and none of the homes that sold went above list price. Small sample sizes can move these numbers fast, so treat 02142 as its own category, not a signal for the rest.
The wider picture: two ZIP codes moving in opposite directions
| 02144 (Davis / Teele Sq.) | 02145 (East Somerville) | |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1,150,000 | $900,000 |
| Months of supply | 2.4 months | 3.2 months |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 102.1% | 99.4% |
| Sold above list price | 47.6% | 32.5% |
| Under contract in 2 weeks | 62.7% | 38.2% |
| Median days on market | 20 days | 25 days |
ZIP 02144 added inventory fast. New listings rose 61% year over year, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found. Supply ticked up 0.5 months. Even so, 62.7% of homes went under contract within two weeks. That is the highest two-week rate of any ZIP code in this market for the period. Prices dipped 5.9% from a year before, which is worth watching, but demand held.
ZIP 02145 is softer. Supply rose 0.7 months year over year. Only 32.5% of homes sold above list price, down 16.8 points. The median sale price fell 13.5% to $900,000. More homes, slower pace, lower prices. That is a different conversation for a seller than 02144 next door.
The broader context
Realtor.com put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro median home price at $784,778 in September 2026. Every ZIP code in this market sits above that figure. This area is priced well above the metro middle, which means rate sensitivity matters more here.
Realtor.com also reported that the median asking rent in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area was $2,959 in August 2026, down 2.4% from a year before. Rents slipping while for-sale prices stay elevated is a tension worth noting. It changes the rent-versus-buy math for some buyers, and it is worth factoring in if you are deciding whether to list or hold.
CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.30% as of September 30, 2026. Mortgage News Daily put it at 7.58% on the same day. Realtor.com noted that rates topped 7% in September 2026 for the first time since January 2025. At those levels, a $1.2 million purchase carries a very different monthly payment than it did two years ago. That math is in every buyer's head right now.
Nationally, Realtor.com found that 20.8% of listings had a price cut in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is not this market's number. But it is the backdrop buyers are reading when they decide how hard to push on price.
All eight ZIP codes, side by side
What this means for you
Sellers in 02139 and 02140 are still in a strong position. Supply is thin, buyers are moving fast, and sale-to-list ratios are above 103%. Sellers in 02145 and 02141 are in a different conversation. More supply, slower pace, prices down year over year. Pricing to the right number matters more when buyers have options.
Buyers in the tighter ZIPs should expect competition. Nearly 6 in 10 homes in 02139 went under contract within two weeks, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found. In 02144, it was nearly 63%. Coming in low on price in those conditions is a way to lose, not save money.
- The three months ending July 31, 2026 show one market with eight different readings.
- ZIP 02139 had 1.2 months of supply and more than half of homes selling above list.
- ZIP 02142 had 6.1 months of supply and no homes selling above list.
- One street can read very differently from the ZIP code average, and one ZIP code can read very differently from the one next to it.
Your next step
(617) 939-4613Text me your address and I will send back where your Somerville or Cambridge home sits against what actually sold in your ZIP code this summer, including days on market and sale-to-list. Takes a day, costs nothing.
Text me- Real Estate Data Aggregator numbers for ZIPs 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142, 02143, 02144 and 02145, the three months ending July 31, 2026, compared with the same months of 2025. Real Estate Data Aggregator last updated them on Sep 3, 2026.
- Realtor.com: September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends: Price Cuts Hit 4-Year Highs as Mortgage Rates Top 7%, Sep 30, 2026
- Realtor.com: August 2026 Rental Report: Rents Fall for 37th Straight Month as Concessions Give Renters More Leverage, Sep 17, 2026
- Federal Housing Finance Agency: FHFA House Price Index® Up 0.3 Percent in July; Up 2.6 Percent from Last Year | FHFA, Sep 29, 2026
- Redfin: Redfin Reports U.S. Home Prices Rose 0.25% From a Month Earlier in August, Sep 22, 2026
- CNBC: Mortgage rates jump for the sixth straight week, hitting both refinance and homebuyer demand hard, Sep 30, 2026