Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Prices slipped across every part of this market, even with steady demand

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon

Real estate, Metro West - Natick/Marlboro/Framingham

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% year over year through July 2026. This market went the other direction. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted median sale prices falling 4% to 5.5% across every ZIP code here in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That gap matters if you are setting a price or making an offer.

Sellers: a number from last year is the wrong starting point. Buyers: there is more room than a year ago, but well-priced homes are still moving fast and still closing above list.

Prices fell everywhere, but demand held

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 445 homes sold across this market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 4% from the same period a year before. Sales went up even as prices came down. That is not a collapsing market. It is a market that repriced and kept moving.

How each ZIP code read

Every part of this market saw prices slip, but the numbers are not identical. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for each ZIP code in the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Natick (01760): the highest prices, the tightest supply

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in ZIP 01760 at $911,000, down 4.1% from a year before. Homes for sale dropped 27.8% at the same time. Supply tightened even as prices fell. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1.1 months of supply, down 0.5 months from a year ago. Homes here went under contract in a median of 19 days, and 44.4% sold above list price.

The share of homes that sold above list fell 10.3 points from a year before, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is the biggest drop of any ZIP code here. Buyers are getting more of what they ask for, but competition has not disappeared.

Framingham West (01701): the most active ZIP code

ZIP 01701 had 113 homes sold and 142 new listings in the three months ending August 31, 2026, both the highest new-listing count of any single ZIP here, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. New listings rose 17.4% from a year before. More sellers came to market, and more buyers followed. The median sale price was $701,000, down 4%. Homes that sold above list: 56.6%, the highest share across all four ZIPs.

Days on market crept up 3 days from a year before, to 19 days, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is a small move. But it is the largest increase of any ZIP code here, and it is worth watching if you are pricing.

Framingham East (01702): more sales, same pace

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 88 homes sold in ZIP 01702, up 33.3% from the same period a year before. That is a big jump in volume. Median days on market held at 21 days, unchanged from a year ago. The median sale price was $604,500, down 5.5%. Supply sits at 2 months, also unchanged. Things moved faster by volume, but the pace of individual sales did not change.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows 59.4% of homes in 01702 went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share fell 6.3 points from a year before. Still, nearly 6 in 10 homes moved in two weeks. That is a competitive ZIP.

Marlborough (01752): prices down, but buyers kept coming

ZIP 01752 had a median sale price of $585,000, down 5% from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes sold fell 12.3%, and pending sales dropped 8.3%. At the same time, the share of homes going under contract within two weeks rose 4.3 points, to 52%. That is a mixed read. Fewer homes closed, but the ones that were priced right moved quickly.

What the national picture adds

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% year over year through July 2026. This market moved opposite to that trend. Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally carried a price reduction in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Mortgage rates topped 7% in September, according to Realtor.com, and Fannie Mae, as reported by CNBC, forecasts a 30-year fixed rate of 7.5% for all of 2027. Rates are not helping buyers stretch. That puts more weight on the list price a seller chooses from day one.

What this means if you own a home here

Prices are down, but homes are still selling above list in every ZIP code. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows sale-to-list ratios between 100.5% and 101.6% across this market. That means pricing right still earns sellers more than they asked. Pricing too high now, with rates above 7% and more inventory than a year ago, is a bigger risk than it was in 2025.

One more thing. ZIP code averages smooth out a lot. One street, one condition, one school zone can read very differently from the number above. If you want to know where your specific address lands, that takes a closer look.