Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

DOTW Buy Box sales held up even as inventory fell

By Latryl Russell

Real estate, DOTW Buy Box

Here is the one thing that matters most right now. Demand in the DOTW Buy Box held its ground, even while the rest of the country softened.

Redfin reported that nationally, sellers outnumbered buyers by 62.6% in September 2026. That is a real gap. It is the backdrop every homeowner and buyer needs to understand.

But the DOTW Buy Box told a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,203 homes sold across the 11 ZIP codes in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 1.4% from the same three months in 2025.

So what does that mean for you? Buyers are still here. Homes are still moving. Pricing matters more than ever, but the floor has not fallen out.

Fewer homes to choose from

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,480 homes for sale across the Buy Box in the same period. That is down 11.3% from a year before. Fewer listings, but sales still rose. That tells you buyers are acting when the right home appears.

New listings also dipped. The Real Estate Data Aggregator recorded 2,743 new listings across the Buy Box, down 2.7% year over year. Less fresh supply coming in means the homes that are priced well stand out more.

What the national picture adds

Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is a signal that overpriced homes are sitting.

Realtor.com also noted that mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Redfin put the weekly average at 7.4% on October 8, 2026, a three-year high. Higher rates slow some buyers, but the ones still searching are serious.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Growth is slowing, but prices nationally are still up year over year.

How each ZIP code looked

Not every ZIP code moved the same way. The table below shows homes sold and median sale price for each area in the three months ending August 31, 2026, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Speed: how fast homes went under contract

Some ZIP codes moved quickly. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that in 75052, 42.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In 76013, it was 38.7%. In 76126, 37.3%.

On the slower end, 76052 saw just 13.1% of homes go under contract within two weeks. That is still a market, just one with more room to breathe.

Pending sales: a look at what is coming next

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,246 pending sales across the Buy Box in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 2.5% from a year ago. A small dip, not a drop.

Prices dipped a little, but sellers still got close to asking

Most ZIP codes saw median prices slip a bit year over year. That is an honest admission. But sellers across the Buy Box still received close to their asking price.

In 76013, the Real Estate Data Aggregator put the average sale-to-list ratio at 99.1%, up 1.2 points from a year before. In 76126, it was 98.6%. Even the lowest, 76052 at 97.9%, means sellers gave up very little.

One more thing worth saying: the Buy Box as a whole is one picture. One street can read very differently from the ZIP code around it. If your home sits in one of these areas, the numbers above are a starting point, not the whole story.