Published October 20, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market sales rose even as listings barely changed

By Jodi Bakst

Real estate, Primary market

More homes sold here even though barely any new supply arrived. That gap is the one fact that shapes every decision right now.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,671 homes sold across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 8.2% from the same months of 2025. At the same time, new listings rose just 0.8%, to 1,887. Demand moved faster than supply.

Pending sales also rose 8.1%, to 1,583, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That tells us buyers kept showing up through the summer. It is a real signal, not a fluke.

Rates are not helping buyers. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% on October 15, 2026. That is a three-year high, according to Redfin. Yet sales still climbed here. Pricing and timing still matter because rates alone are not stopping people.

Nationally, the National Association of Realtors reported 3.99 million existing homes sold in September 2026. U.S. prices rose 1.3% from a year before. Our Primary market outpaced that sales growth rate.

How each ZIP code read in the same period

The market-wide number is one story. Each ZIP code tells its own. Here is how they lined up for the three months ending August 31, 2026, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Where homes moved fastest

ZIP 27511 in Cary had the shortest median time on market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put it at 19 days. More than half of homes there, 52.4%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share rose 12.4 points from a year before.

ZIP 27513, also in Cary, saw 49.3% of homes go under contract within two weeks. That share jumped 16.5 points from the year before, the biggest gain of any ZIP in this market, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Where prices moved most

Hillsborough's ZIP 27278 saw the biggest price gain. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $537,500, up 11.5% from a year before. Sales there rose 20.6%, and pending sales jumped 32.6%.

Carrboro's ZIP 27510 moved the other way. The median sale price fell 23.3%, to $441,000. That is a big move. Not every home in every ZIP follows the same line.

ZIP 27707 in Durham also dipped. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median there at $452,500, down 7.2%. Sales in that ZIP rose 9.7%, though, so the price dip did not stop buyers.

Where supply grew and where it shrank

Pittsboro's ZIP 27312 added the most new listings. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 198, up 30.3% from a year before. Homes for sale there rose 31.2%, to 202. More choice, and more time to decide: the median was 53 days on market.

Morrisville's ZIP 27560 lost the most new listings. They fell 20.5%, to 97. Sales there fell 33.9%. That ZIP is reading differently from the rest of the market right now.

ZIP 27713 in Durham had only 2.4 months of supply, the tightest in the market, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. It also had the fastest median days on market at 27 days, and sales rose 12.2%.

What the national picture adds

Nationally, Realtor.com reported for-sale listings growing nearly 7% year over year. Our Primary market's homes for sale rose just 1.5% by comparison. Local supply is tighter than the national trend.

Realtor.com also put the national median days on market at 61 days for the week of October 15, 2026. Most ZIPs here sold faster than that. The Primary market is moving quicker than the U.S. as a whole.

One street can read very differently from its whole ZIP code. The numbers above are a starting point, not the final word on your home.