Published November 1, 2026 in Market Update

DOTW Buy Box sales rose even as inventory stayed tighter than last year

By Latryl Russell

Real estate, DOTW Buy Box

Here is the number that matters most right now. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,203 homes sold across the DOTW Buy Box in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 1.4% from the same months of 2025. Demand held up. That is good news for sellers and buyers alike.

At the same time, inventory fell. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 2,480 homes for sale across these ZIP codes, down 11.3% from a year before. Nationally, Realtor.com reported active listings topped 1.16 million homes in September 2026. Our market is running leaner than that national picture.

Fewer choices for buyers, but buyers kept buying. That is a steady market, not a stalled one. It also means well-priced homes did not sit long in most ZIP codes.

The national backdrop: rates and price cuts

Mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025, according to Realtor.com. Redfin reported a weekly average rate of 7.32% for the four weeks ending October 25, 2026. That pushed the median monthly payment for a typical homebuyer to $2,786, Redfin said.

Realtor.com also noted that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Our local ZIP codes did see prices dip a little in most areas. But sales volume still rose overall. That gap tells a useful story.

How each ZIP code stacked up

Not every ZIP code moved the same way. Some sold faster than a year ago. Some saw prices edge up. A few saw both sales and inventory fall. Here is where each one landed for the three months ending August 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Speed: which ZIP codes moved fastest

Grand Prairie's 75052 had the shortest median days on market at 33 days, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Arlington's 76013 was close at 35 days. Haslet's 76052 was the slowest at 62 days. Speed varied a lot from one community to the next.

Homes going under contract fast

The share of homes going under contract within two weeks of listing tells you where buyers moved quickly. Grand Prairie's 75052 led the DOTW Buy Box at 42.3%, up 9 points from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Arlington's 76013 followed at 38.7%, up 6.7 points. Fort Worth's 76126 came in at 37.3%, up 12.2 points.

Where prices moved up, where they dipped

Most ZIP codes saw prices dip a little. That is an honest read. Fort Worth's 76132 was the standout, with a median sale price of $428,000, up 7% from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Arlington's 76013 also edged up, to $315,000, up 1.6%. Every other ZIP code in the DOTW Buy Box saw prices soften slightly.

Inventory: tighter in most places

Most ZIP codes had fewer homes for sale than a year ago. Mansfield's 76063 saw the sharpest drop, down 36.8%, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Fort Worth's 76123 fell 29.9% and 76126 fell 25.2%. Haslet's 76052 bucked the trend, up 1%, and Fort Worth's 76179 rose 14.6%.

Months of supply: a balanced market overall

Months of supply tells you how long it would take to sell every home at the current pace. Below 3 months leans toward sellers. Above 6 leans toward buyers. Most DOTW Buy Box ZIP codes sat in a balanced middle range, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

New listings and pending sales

Across the full DOTW Buy Box, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,743 new listings in the three months ending August 31, 2026, down 2.7% from a year before. Pending sales came in at 2,246, down 2.5%. New supply and signed contracts both eased slightly, but neither fell sharply.

One thing worth saying plainly: a ZIP code number tells you the average. One street, one block, one home can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. Condition, price point and location within a ZIP all shape what actually happens when a home hits the market.