Housing Report, August vs July 2026: National vs Essex County, MA 8/22/2026:
National Housing Report (Homes and Condos): Normal Summer Slow Down As Prices and Unit Sales Fell from July.
Unit sales fell -2.0% to 3.98 Million, median sale prices fell -1.2% to $429,100, Days On Market rose from 57 to 60. Active Listings rose +3.6% to 1.62 Million, Months of Inventory rose to 4.9 Months from 4.6 months and 20.4% of Active Listings had price reductions which averaged 5%. However, prices rose 1.6% year over year.
National Bottom Line: August was a slower, more negotiable and increasingly balanced national market. Compared to the South, the West, and Central USA, the Northeast Region recorded the strongest increase in Sold Prices, +4.3% even though median asking prices declined -3.6%. This means sellers were more realistic in their asking prices and inventory remained limited which kept prices up.
Essex County MA: August 2026 vs July 2026 - Summer Slowdown Continued as mortgage rates remained elevated!
Month over month, Single-Family, Condo and Multi-Family unit sales and the number of active listings were all down. Months of inventory and days on market also rose, indicating a market slowdown. Median prices were mixed: Single Families down -6%, Condos Up +4.8%, 2-4 unit Multi-Families up +2.7%.
Essex County MA: Median Sold Price to Median List Price Ratio - August 2026:
Single Families Sold for 94.4%; Condos Sold for 98.8%; Multi-Families Sold for 97.7%.
Percent of Active Listings With Price Reductions - August 2026:
Single-Families 17.1%, Condos 19.1% and 2-4 Unit Multi-Families 21.0%.
Average Price Reductions: Single-Families -5.01%; Condos -4.2%; Multi-Families -5.12%.
Current Months of Inventory: (a balanced market has 6 months of inventory):
Single-Families 2.2 months, Condos 2.5 months, 2-4 Unit Multi-Families 2.6 months.
Bottom line: Current low inventory favors sellers who price their properties correctly.
- To view data for every Essex County town, http://www.sullivanteam.com/Properties/Reports/Public/Charts.php
- To Download the full housing report go to: http://sullivanteam.com/pages/EssexCountyHousingReports
