Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Prices are no longer moving the same way across Local Buy Box

The Federal Housing Finance Agency counted U.S. house prices up 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. That one number hides a wide split inside Local Buy Box. Knowing which side of that split your home sits on changes everything about your plan.

The split, ZIP by ZIP

For the three months ending August 31, 2026, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted four ZIP codes moving in different directions. Two went up. One slipped a little. One fell hard.

ZIP 92688 saw the biggest drop. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put its median sale price at $842,500, down 7.1% from a year before. That is a real difference for a seller pricing today.

ZIP 92679 moved the other way. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median sale price of $1,637,250 there, up 4.7% year over year. ZIP 92691 also gained, reaching $1,330,000, up 4.5%.

ZIP 92692 was nearly flat. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put its median at $1,090,000, down just 0.9%. Not a big move, but still a dip.

How fast homes are moving

Speed tells its own story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted median days on market at 39 days in 92691, 40 days in 92688, 47 days in 92692, and 52 days in 92679.

All four ZIPs got faster year over year. 92679 dropped 9 days, the biggest gain. Even 92688, where prices fell, sold 2 days quicker than last year.

Quick sales do not always mean higher prices. In 92688, homes sold faster, but the median price still fell 7.1%. Pricing right matters more than ever.

Who is buying above list price

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that in 92688, 36.8% of homes sold above list price, up 13.6 points from a year before. That jump is notable, even as the median price fell.

In 92691, 35% of homes sold above list, up 7.9 points. In 92692, only 19.1% did, down slightly. In 92679, 17.3% sold above list, nearly unchanged.

So some homes in 92688 are drawing real competition. Others are not. The gap between the two is wide, and it comes down to price and condition.

Supply across Local Buy Box

Across all four ZIPs together, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 431 homes for sale in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 7.3% from a year before.

At the same time, new listings rose 11.6% to 578 across the whole market. More sellers are listing, but fewer homes are sitting on the shelf.

Months of supply tells the tightest story at the ZIP level. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2.1 months in 92691 and 2.2 months in 92692. Those are tight. 92688 had 2.9 months and 92679 had 3.7 months, giving buyers a little more room.

What the national picture adds

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices up 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. That is a calm national number. Local Buy Box is not calm in the same way.

The National Association of Realtors counted 3.99 million existing-home sales in September 2026, up 1.5% from the month before. More sales nationally does not mean more sales in every ZIP.

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally took a price cut in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. In Local Buy Box, some ZIPs are still seeing buyers bid above list. Others are not.

Mortgage rates are also a factor. Realtor.com reported rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Higher rates slow buyers down, and that pressure lands unevenly across price points.