Published October 11, 2026 in Market Update

Mid Cape still looks tight, even with rates at 7.40%

By Eric Rollo

Real estate, Mid Cape

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 8, 2026. That is real money added to every monthly payment. Yet the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 290 homes for sale across Mid Cape in the three months ending August 31, 2026, against 411 pending sales. More buyers are waiting than there are homes to buy. Rates are up, but choice is still limited.

That gap matters for both sides. Sellers: limited supply still gives you an edge on pricing. Buyers: you are competing in a thin market, even at 7.40%. Timing your move and pricing it right still counts for a lot here.

Speed: most homes are not sitting long

Across Mid Cape, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows median days on market running between 13 and 34 days, depending on the ZIP. That is not slow. In ZIP 02673, the median was just 22 days, 5 days shorter than the same period in 2025. In ZIP 02645, it was 16 days, 8 days shorter. Well-priced homes are still finding buyers quickly.

Prices: mostly up, with a few exceptions

Most ZIP codes saw prices hold or climb. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows ZIP 02671 up 25.1% year over year, to a median of $806,500. ZIP 02673 rose 13%, to $555,000. ZIP 02631 was up 11.1%, to $752,500. Not every ZIP moved the same way, though. ZIP 02646 was down 47.1%, to $592,500, and ZIP 02670 was down 18.8%, to $670,000. Those drops likely reflect the mix of homes that sold, not a broad slide.

How close to list price did homes sell?

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows sale-to-list ratios running from 97.4% to 100.4% across Mid Cape ZIP codes. ZIP 02631 averaged exactly 100%, meaning sellers got every dollar of their asking price on the median deal. ZIP 02671 averaged 100.4%, so sellers there got slightly above list. Only ZIP 02638 came in at 97.4%, which is still close. Nationally, Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings took a price cut in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Mid Cape sellers are not seeing that kind of pressure, at least not yet.

How fast are homes going under contract?

This is where the story gets interesting. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that in ZIP 02673, 57.5% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 26.7 points from a year before. ZIP 02631 hit 49.2%, up 28.2 points. ZIP 02646 came in at 46.2%, up 22.2 points. Even at 7.40% rates, buyers in these ZIPs are moving fast. ZIP 02671 was the quietest, at 18.2% going under contract within two weeks.

Supply is still very low

Months of supply across Mid Cape ZIPs ranged from 1.8 to 4.2 in the three months ending August 31, 2026, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Six months is the traditional balance point. Nothing here is close to that. ZIP 02675 had just 1.8 months, down 1.1 months from a year before. ZIP 02670 dropped a full 3.9 months, to just 2 months. ZIP 02671 was the loosest at 4.2 months, but still well below balanced.

The national picture vs. Mid Cape

Nationally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, and 0.3% from June to July alone. Realtor.com counted 1.16 million active listings nationally in September 2026. Mid Cape's 290 homes for sale is a fraction of that, and the local pending-to-active ratio tells a tighter story than the national one does.