Published September 30, 2026 in Market Update

Some parts eased on price, but demand did not disappear

By Patrick & Alana Scanlon (Scanlon Sells Team)

Real estate, Chelms / Lowell Area

Hi folks. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. That sounds like a clean, simple story. It is not, at least not here.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 794 homes sold across the Chelms / Lowell Area in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 7.7% from the same three months a year before. Buyers did not disappear. But price moves were all over the map, ZIP code to ZIP code.

How much prices moved, by ZIP code

This is the part that matters most if you own here. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows price changes from down 22.4% to up 17.8%, all in the same market, all in the same period.

ZIP 01850 saw the median sale price rise 17.8% to $535,000, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. ZIP 01460 saw the median fall 22.4% to $706,000 over the same period. That is a wide spread, and it is why a broad national number does not help you much.

Median sale prices across the area

Demand held up even where prices dipped

Here is the honest read: some prices came down, but buyers kept showing up. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 880 pending sales across the area in those three months. That is up 15% from a year before.

ZIP 01460 is a good example of this. The median price fell 22.4%, but homes sold there were up 85% and pending sales jumped 66.7%, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. More buyers, lower price. That combination usually means the market found a level people would pay.

ZIP 01876 tells a similar story. The median slipped 3.3% to $680,000. But the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 111 homes sold there, up 14.4%, and 124 pending sales, up 37.8%. Buyers were not scared off.

Most homes still sold above list price

Across every ZIP code the Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked, the average sale price came in above the list price. That is not nothing. It means sellers were not giving homes away, even in the ZIPs where the median price fell year over year.

How fast homes went under contract

Speed varied too. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that in ZIP 01824, 74.4% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In ZIP 01852, that share was 46.5%. Same market, very different pace depending on where you are.

Supply crept up, but it is still low

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 441 homes for sale across the area, up 17.3% from a year before. More choices for buyers. But months of supply stayed tight in most ZIPs, ranging from 1 month in ZIP 01876 to 2.9 months in ZIP 01850.

What the national number misses

The Federal Housing Finance Agency put U.S. house price growth at 2.6% for the year ending July 2026. That is a real number. But it is one number for the whole country.

In the Chelms / Lowell Area alone, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows price changes ranging from down 22.4% to up 17.8% across different ZIPs in the same three-month window. Your ZIP code is doing something the national average cannot see.

One more thing worth saying: even within a ZIP code, one street can read differently from the whole. A few big sales, or a stretch without any, can shift the numbers. If your home is in a spot that does not match what you see here, that is normal. It is also worth knowing before you pick a price.