Published October 11, 2026 in Market Update

More sellers are cutting prices, and some parts of this market show why

By Jason & Susan Zwolak

Real estate, Expired Listings

I was looking at the numbers across this market this week, and one thing stood out. Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price reductions in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is not just a national story. Some ZIP codes right here are showing the same pressure.

Mortgage rates are part of why buyers are slow. CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate hit 7.49% in the week ending October 7, 2026. Realtor.com put rates above 7% for September 2026. When borrowing costs are that high, buyers take their time. And when buyers take their time, a price that is even a little too high sits.

Where the slowdown shows up most clearly

In ZIP 92604, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of 57 days on market for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is 13 days longer than the same period a year ago. Months of supply rose to 4.4. Homes sold fell 27.3% year over year, to just 32 sales. The median sale price dipped to $1,380,000, down 1.4%. Homes are not flying off the shelf here.

ZIP 92625 tells a similar story on time. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found a median of 65 days on market there, 11 days longer than a year ago. The median sale price was $4,250,000, up 9.1%. So prices held up, but buyers took longer to get there. The share of homes that sold above list price fell 4.5 points to 8.7%.

ZIP 92663 had 68 days on market, the longest of any ZIP with a year-over-year comparison in this data set. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median sale price there fell 18.7% to $2,685,000. Homes sold dropped 23.3%. The sale-to-list ratio was 95.4%, down 0.7 points. Fewer than 5 in 100 homes sold above asking.

How the ZIP codes compare on days to sell

Where pricing held and where it slipped

Not every ZIP is under the same pressure. Some are doing better than the national picture suggests.

ZIP 92626 had just 2 months of supply, the tightest in this market, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes there sold in a median of 38 days. The sale-to-list ratio was 99.1%. Nearly 3 in 10 homes sold above list price. That ZIP is reading differently from the ones where buyers are waiting.

ZIP 92656 showed a median of 41 days on market, unchanged from a year ago, with a sale-to-list ratio of 99.3%. More than 1 in 4 homes sold above asking. Supply was just 3 months. Prices edged up 0.6% to $940,000.

ZIP 92606 is worth noting too. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found a sale-to-list ratio of exactly 100% there, and 36% of homes sold above list price. Supply fell to 3.8 months. Prices rose 14.1% to $1,460,000.

The pricing signal that matters most

The share of homes sold above list price is one of the clearest signs of where pricing power sits. When that share falls, it usually means sellers started too high and buyers pushed back.

In ZIP 92604, that share fell 13 points from a year ago. In ZIP 92663, it fell 7 points. In ZIP 92627, it fell 13.3 points. Those are real shifts. They tell you buyers are not rushing, and they are not bidding up.

What this means if you own a home here

This is not a story about too many homes. Nationally, Realtor.com counted 1.16 million active listings in September 2026. Locally, inventory in most of these ZIP codes is moderate. The story is about pricing and patience.

When buyers are borrowing at 7.49% (CNBC, October 7, 2026), every dollar of price matters more to them. A home priced right for this market sells. A home priced for last year sits, and then gets cut. Realtor.com found that 20.8% of listings nationally were cut in September 2026. That is the highest share since October 2022.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. home prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Prices are not collapsing. But in ZIP codes like 92604, 92612, 92614 and 92663, the local data shows prices have dipped from a year ago. Getting the first price right matters more now than it did two years ago.

One more thing worth knowing: a single street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. The numbers above are medians. Your home's condition, location and price point all shift where it lands in that picture.