Massachusetts Fall Housing Market 2026: September Is the Second Listing Wave

Spring gets the headlines, but September brings the second listing wave of the year in Massachusetts. According to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® monthly indicators, single-family new listings rose from 3,862 in August 2025 to 5,476 in September 2025, a 42% jump. Inventory peaked the same month at 9,202, the highest of the year.

Where prices are now

The July 2026 statewide single-family median sale price was $715,000, up 2.9% from July 2025. Closed sales were up 8.2% year over year and inventory was down 6.8%. Demand held through the summer while the number of homes for sale stayed tight. Town-level medians in Newton, Brookline or Lexington differ substantially from the statewide figure, and those are the numbers to price against.

If you are buying this fall

• Get pre-approved before Labor Day, so you can move on a September listing without delay.
• Last September, sellers received 98.1% of original asking price on average. Offers below asking were not unusual in the fall market.
• Average days on market last September was 40. Listings past that point usually had negotiating room.

If you are selling this fall

• List in the first half of September, before the full wave lands. Inventory peaked at 9,202 last September, the highest month of the year.
• Price to recent closings on your street, not to spring results.
• By December 2025, new listings had dropped to 1,580 statewide. The buyers active then were fewer but serious.
• Photograph the home in September light.

What I tell clients

Fall buyers in Greater Boston get more choice and, in the 2025 data, more room to negotiate than spring buyers. The statewide median is context; your street’s closings are the pricing anchor. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.