Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Higher mortgage rates are slowing North Shore deal flow

By Chris DiToro

Real estate, North Shore

The one number that changes what you should know right now: pending sales on the North Shore fell 19.9% year over year, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Fewer buyers are signing contracts. That is the clearest sign that higher rates are working their way into this market.

Redfin reported that the weekly average mortgage rate hit 7.4% on October 8. That pushed the typical buyer's monthly payment to $2,777, the highest on record except for the week before, also per Redfin. Buyers are doing the math carefully before signing anything.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 306 homes sold across the North Shore in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Sales still happened. But the pipeline behind them, the pending contracts, shrank much faster. That gap is worth watching.

What buyers are feeling right now

Redfin counted about 928,892 homebuyers active in the U.S. market in September, the lowest level since 2013. At the same time, Redfin counted about 1,510,784 sellers, the most since March 2020. Nationally, sellers outnumbered buyers by 62.6%, per Redfin. That context matters for the North Shore too.

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026. Northeast inventory rose 11.6% year over year that same month, per Realtor.com. More choices for buyers can mean more time to compare. It can also mean sellers need to price with more care.

ZIP by ZIP: the North Shore is not one market

The North Shore stretches from St. George to Stapleton to New Brighton and beyond. Each ZIP reads differently. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for each one in the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Where homes are still moving quickly

ZIP 10302 stood out in speed. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put median days on market there at 26 days, 19 days shorter than the same period last year. The average sale came in at 100.6% of list price, and 45.8% of homes sold above list. That is a different feel from the broader North Shore picture.

ZIP 10303 also moved well. Median days on market were 38, down 12 days year over year per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes there sold at 101.8% of list price on average. Nearly 4 in 10 homes sold above list.

ZIP 10310 saw the highest median sale price on the North Shore at $767,000, up 20.8% year over year, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Supply there was tight at 3 months. But pending sales fell 21.6%, so the forward picture is softer.

Where sellers are waiting longer

ZIP 10301 had the longest wait. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put median days on market at 70, which is 14 days longer than last year. Pending sales there fell 20.7%. Prices rose 13.8% to a median of $740,000, but fewer buyers are moving fast at that level.

ZIP 10304 saw homes sold fall 25.6% year over year, the steepest drop on the North Shore, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Days on market stretched to 59, up 7 days. The sale to list ratio slipped to 95.8%. More listings came in, up 20.8%, which adds to buyer choice and can soften prices further.

ZIP 10305 had a small price dip. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $720,000, down 4% year over year. Homes still sold, 84 of them, the most of any North Shore ZIP. Days on market improved to 42, down 13 days. Not every number points the same way, which is exactly why one ZIP needs its own read.

Quick contracts are rarer than they were

A year ago, many North Shore homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That has changed. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that share fell in every single ZIP, by as much as 21.2 points in 10305 and 19.8 points in 10303. Buyers are taking more time. Sellers who expect a fast offer may need to adjust their thinking.

The national backdrop

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month to month, prices were up 0.3% in July, seasonally adjusted. Prices are still moving up nationally, just slowly.

Redfin reported that the median U.S. home-sale price rose only 0.5% year over year, the slowest growth since March. The North Shore is outpacing that in several ZIPs, but the national slowdown is a real backdrop.

Realtor.com reported that the Northeast median list price fell 3.8% year over year in September 2026. The North Shore's own numbers are mixed: some ZIPs are up, one is down. That is why a street-level read matters more than a regional average.

One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. If you want to know what the numbers look like right where you are, I am happy to walk you through it.