Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

One part of this market is much tighter than the rest

By LORI DONNELLY

Real estate, Primary buy box (2)

Toms River agent. Weichert, Realtors. Office Top Producer. These numbers are from the three months ending August 31, 2026, and I am grateful every time the data tells a clear story. This one really does.

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price cuts in September. That is the highest share since October 2022. So you might expect this market to feel the same way. Parts of it do. But one ZIP code is running a completely different race.

ZIP 08533: the tightest spot in this market

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 16 homes for sale in ZIP 08533 during the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 48.4% from a year before. Supply sat at 1.2 months, down 2.5 months from the same period in 2025. When inventory falls that fast, sellers hold real leverage.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows homes in 08533 sold in a median of 27 days. That is 19 days faster than the same period a year ago. Sales jumped 57.7%, even as new listings fell 14.7%. The median price dipped a little, down 0.7% to $575,000. But 34.2% of homes sold above list price, up 26.5 points from a year before. That is not a soft market.

Now look at the other end

ZIP 07755 is a different picture. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 7.7 months of supply there, up 2.8 months from a year before. Homes for sale rose 18.4%. Sales fell 25%. Pending sales dropped 30.8%. Homes sold at 96% of list price on average. That gap between 08533 and 07755 is real, and it matters for how you price.

A few more ZIPs worth knowing

ZIP 07701 is tight too. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1.3 months of supply there. Homes sold at 104.7% of list price on average, up 3.3 points. More than half of homes, 58.5%, sold above list. Sales rose 14% and the median price climbed 13.2% to $707,500. That is a ZIP where buyers are competing.

ZIP 08742 had 2.4 months of supply and a median sale price of $939,500, up 14.8% from a year before. Homes sold in 22 days on average. Sales held flat year over year. Not as tight as 08533 or 07701, but still a market where well-priced homes move.

What rates are doing to buyers right now

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026. The 15-year rate averaged 6.71%. Realtor.com noted rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Fannie Mae, as reported by CNBC on October 14, 2026, forecasts the 30-year rate stays at 7.4% through the end of 2026 and averages 7.5% through all of 2027. Higher rates slow some buyers. In tight ZIPs like 08533, demand is still outrunning supply anyway.

The whole market, together

Across all 20 ZIP codes in this market, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 885 homes for sale, 1,174 new listings, and 968 pending sales in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Pending sales nearly matched new listings. That is a sign buyers are absorbing supply as fast as it arrives, at least across the market as a whole.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. home prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Several ZIPs in this market beat that number by a wide margin. ZIP 08730 was up 48.5%. ZIP 07750 was up 50.4%. ZIP 07755 was up 40.7%. Not every ZIP ran the same direction, but the tightest ones outpaced the national pace.