Published October 4, 2026 in Market Update

More listings are giving buyers a little more room in some parts of the market

By Mike Raivala

Real estate, Primary market

Here is the one thing that matters most right now. Realtor.com reported active listings up 6.3% from a year ago as of October 1, 2026. More homes to choose from means buyers have options. Sellers who price carefully and prepare their homes well still do fine. But the easy wins of a year ago are harder to find in some areas.

These numbers cover the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is the period behind every local figure below.

Where listings jumped the most

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 89 homes for sale in ZIP 55811 during that period. That is up 64.8% from the same three months in 2025. New listings there rose 52.9%, to 182. So buyers in 55811 have far more to look at than they did a year ago.

Prices in 55811 still rose. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $420,000, up 13.8%. Homes sold in a median 14 days, which is 23 days faster than a year ago. So more competition did not stop prices from climbing or homes from moving quickly. What it did do: the share of homes selling above list price fell 16.3 points, to 41.6%. Sellers still win, but not by as wide a margin.

Some areas still have very little supply

Not every ZIP code saw more listings. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 1 month of supply in ZIP 55807, down 0.5 months from a year ago. Homes there sold in a median 10 days, 17 days faster than last year. The median sale price was $246,709, up 8.9%. In ZIP 54880, supply fell to 1.4 months. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 68.2% of homes there went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 27.1 points from a year ago.

A few areas where buyers have the most room

Some ZIP codes tell a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 7.4 months of supply in ZIP 55604 and 7.1 months in ZIP 54847. In 55604, the median days on market was 20, and only 26.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks. In 54847, the median days on market was 79, which is 38 days longer than a year ago. Only 8.3% of homes there went under contract within two weeks, down 47.7 points from last year. Sellers in those areas need to price carefully and prepare well.

ZIP 54859 also saw supply climb sharply. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put months of supply there at 6.4, up 3.5 months from a year ago. Homes for sale rose 70.6%. The median sale price dipped 8% to $347,450. That is a real shift, and it shows how quickly the picture can change when more listings arrive.

What the wider picture says

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates crossed 7% in late September 2026 for the first time since January 2025. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. Higher rates slow some buyers down. That is part of why Realtor.com also reported pending sales fell, with homes under contract down 4.1% year over year as of September 30, 2026.

The National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August 2026. But year-to-date through the first eight months of 2026, existing-home sales were still up 1.6%. The market is not falling apart. It is adjusting. Realtor.com also noted that price cuts hit their highest September readings since 2018. That is worth knowing if you are setting a list price.

One more thing worth saying: one street can read very differently from the ZIP code around it. A block with a lot of new listings is not the same as one where nothing has come up in months. The numbers above are a real picture of this market, but your specific address may sit in a pocket that looks nothing like the average.