Published October 2, 2026 in Market Update

Rates are above 7%, but buyers in this market are still writing offers

By Andy Neal

Real estate, Primary market

Thank you for reading. I know the first thing most sellers ask right now is whether buyers have walked away. That is a fair concern. Rates are real, and they are high. So let me show you what the numbers actually say about this market.

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.28% as of October 1, 2026. Realtor.com noted that rates crossed 7% in late September for the first time since January 2025. That is a real number, and it adds real cost to every payment. I am not going to pretend otherwise.

But here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted in ZIP 34786 for the three months ending July 31, 2026. Buyers did not stop.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 215 pending sales in ZIP 34786, up 2.4% from the same three months in 2025. Homes sold rose 13.8% in the same comparison. Those are not the numbers of a market that froze.

One in three homes went under contract within two weeks

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 33.5% of homes in ZIP 34786 went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share is up 4 points from the same period a year ago. Good homes, priced well, are still finding buyers quickly.

Prices held, and sellers got close to their asking price

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in ZIP 34786 at $879,950 for the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 5.3% from the same months in 2025. Sellers averaged 96.2% of their list price, up 0.4 points from a year before. That is not a wide gap. It means pricing close to market still works.

Months of supply came in at 3.9, down 0.5 months from the same period last year. For context, the National Association of Realtors reported that the national months' supply reached 4.9 months, its highest level in over ten years. This ZIP code is tighter than that national picture.

What higher rates actually mean for this market

Higher rates slow some buyers down. They do not stop everyone. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. This ZIP code's 5.3% gain ran ahead of that national number.

The 15-year fixed rate sat at 6.60% as of October 1, 2026, according to Freddie Mac. Some buyers are using that option to lower their payment. Others are accepting the 30-year rate and planning to refinance when rates move. Neither path is wrong. Both are happening here.

More listings came on, and buyers absorbed them

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 254 new listings in ZIP 34786 during the three months ending July 31, 2026. That was unchanged from the same period a year before. Active inventory was 274 homes. Nationally, Realtor.com reported active listings up 6.3% from a year ago. This ZIP code held steadier than the national trend.

With 214 homes sold and 215 pending, buyers absorbed nearly all of what came on. That balance kept supply at 3.9 months, below the national number.

One thing worth saying: these numbers cover all of ZIP 34786. One street, one price range, or one style of home can read very differently from the ZIP as a whole. If you want to know what the numbers say about your specific address, just reach out.