Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

One part of this market added inventory without losing demand

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon (Scanlon Sells Team)

Real estate, Metro West - Natick/Marlboro/Framingham

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 478 homes sold across Metro West, Natick, Marlboro and Framingham in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up just 1.1% from the same months a year before. Steady, not spectacular. But one part of this market did something different.

The ZIP that grew both supply and sales

In ZIP 01702, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 57 homes for sale, up 32.6% from a year before. At the same time, homes sold rose 23.9%, to 83 closings. More choices for buyers, and buyers still showed up. That is the story the headline points to.

New listings in 01702 rose 15.6%, to 104, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Pending sales rose 16.4%, to 85. Those two moving together tells you demand kept pace with the new supply. Homes still sold, on average, above list price at 101.7%.

One honest note: the share of homes that sold above list price in 01702 fell 7.3 points, to 49.4%. And the share going under contract within two weeks dropped 10.3 points, to 54.1%. More inventory gives buyers a moment to breathe. Sellers who priced sharply still won. Those who did not had more competition.

How the other ZIPs looked

Not every part of this market followed the same pattern. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

ZIP 01760, Natick, had 154 closings and only 1.1 months of supply, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is the tightest supply in this group. Homes for sale there actually fell 25.7% from a year before. More buyers, fewer choices.

ZIP 01701, the other Framingham code, moved 114 homes in 18 days at the median. That is the fastest median in this market. But the median sale price dipped 7.9%, to $695,000. Homes still sold above list, at 101.6%, so the price shift likely reflects what was available to sell, not a collapse in demand.

One ZIP worth watching separately

ZIP 01772, which covers part of Southborough, tells a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 25 closings, down 39% from a year before. Homes for sale jumped 115.8%, to 41. Months of supply hit 5.0, up 3.6 months from a year before. Median days on market stretched to 27.

The median sale price in 01772 was $980,000, up 8.9%. (That kind of price move on thin volume can mean a different mix of homes sold, not that every home gained value.) The sale-to-list ratio slipped to 99.9%, just under list. Nearly half of homes, 48%, still sold above list, up 4.1 points. So some homes competed hard. Others sat.

What the national picture adds

The local pattern fits what Realtor.com reported nationally. Active listings grew to 1.16 million homes for sale across the country, though that is still 9.1% below pre-pandemic norms, the narrowest gap recorded. More supply is coming to market, but it is not flooding it.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, and 0.3% from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Prices are still moving, just more slowly than the years before.

Realtor.com also reported that 20.8% of listings nationally carried a price reduction in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is a sellers' reminder: more inventory means buyers have options, and an overpriced home sits longer.

What this means if you own here

Across the five ZIPs together, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 281 homes for sale, up 8.5% from a year before. New listings fell 3.5%, to 544. So the inventory that exists is moving a little more slowly, not because of a flood of new listings, but because some homes are taking longer to find a buyer.

Homes are still selling above list in every ZIP we covered. The market has not turned against sellers. But the margin for error on price and condition is thinner than it was a year ago. That is true locally and it matches what the national data shows.