Published October 26, 2026 in Market Update

More homes are moving in the Primary market even with rates above 7%

By Dennis Lue Yat

Real estate, Primary market

The rate headline looks tough. Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. That is the number buyers are working with today. And yet, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,938 pending sales across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Deals are closing. Pricing and timing still decide who wins.

That volume did not happen by accident. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows 4,440 homes for sale and 3,434 new listings in the same period. Supply is moving through. The market is not frozen.

What the rate context means for you

Freddie Mac also reported the 15-year fixed rate at 6.68% as of October 22, 2026. Realtor.com put the average mortgage rate on the market at 7.40% that same day. Neither number is small. But the National Association of Realtors counted 3.99 million existing-home sales nationally in September 2026. Buyers are still moving. They are just being more deliberate about price.

Where the action is strongest

Not every ZIP code is moving at the same pace. Some are tightening fast. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 340 homes sold in 33411 (West Palm Beach), up 30.8% from the same three months of 2025. In 33401 (West Palm Beach), sales were up 61.1% year over year, with 153 homes sold. In 33412 (West Palm Beach), sales rose 40.4%, with 125 homes sold. Those are real shifts, not small adjustments.

Supply is tighter than it looks

Fewer homes for sale means less room to negotiate. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows inventory fell year over year in most ZIP codes. In 33436 (Boynton Beach), homes for sale dropped 27%. In 33418 (Palm Beach Gardens), they fell 22.3%. In 33412 (West Palm Beach), they fell 20.2%. When supply shrinks and sales rise, the seller's position gets stronger, even with rates above 7%.

Homes are going under contract faster

Speed is one of the clearest signals in this data. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that in 33414 (Wellington), 24.6% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 10.4 points from a year before. In 33467 (Lake Worth), 24.7% did the same, up 9.2 points. In 33470 (Loxahatchee), 24.3% went under contract within two weeks, up 6.5 points. That means roughly 1 in 4 homes is not sitting long. Price it right and it moves.

Prices: mostly steady, a few swings

Prices did not move in one direction. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median sale price in 33477 (Jupiter) rose 30.2% year over year to $820,000. In 33418 (Palm Beach Gardens), it rose 16.8% to $835,000. In 33407 (West Palm Beach), it rose 18.5% to $385,000. A few ZIP codes dipped a little. In 33463 (Lake Worth), the median fell 4.9% to $385,000. In 33403 (West Palm Beach), it fell 5.5% to $345,000. The market is not moving as one block.

The national picture backs this up

This is not just a local pattern. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home prices rose 1.3% nationally in September 2026, with inventory at 1.60 million homes. Prices are not falling broadly. And Realtor.com noted that mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025, yet sales kept moving. The Primary market fits that national story.

One more thing worth saying: the numbers above cover whole ZIP codes. One street can tell a different story from the ZIP it sits in. Days on market, months of supply and sale-to-list ratios shift block by block. If you want to know what the data says specifically about your home, reach out.