Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

Prices are not moving one way across Local Buy Box

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6 percent from July 2025 to July 2026. That national number sounds clean. In Local Buy Box, it hides a 11.8-point spread between the best and worst ZIP codes. Your list price or your offer needs the local number, not the national one.

These figures cover the three months ending August 31, 2026. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 495 homes sold across the four ZIPs together. That is down 4.1% from the same months a year before.

Median sale price by ZIP code

Trabuco Canyon (92679) had the highest median at $1,637,250, up 4.7% from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Mission Viejo 92691 came in at $1,330,000, up 4.5%. Those two moved in the same direction as the national trend.

Rancho Santa Margarita (92688) told a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median there at $842,500, down 7.1% from the same period last year. Mission Viejo 92692 dipped too, landing at $1,090,000, down 0.9%.

Year-over-year price change by ZIP

How fast homes are selling

Every ZIP sold faster than a year ago. That is one thing the whole market shares. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows Mission Viejo 92691 was quickest, with a median of 39 days, 3 days shorter than last year.

Where buyers are moving quickly

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 39.2% of homes in Mission Viejo 92691 went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is up 6.7 points from last year. In Rancho Santa Margarita 92688, 37.6% did the same, up 15.2 points.

Even in Trabuco Canyon, where prices rose the most, 30.8% of homes went under contract within two weeks, up 13.9 points from a year before. Buyers are deciding faster across all four ZIPs.

The national picture adds context

The National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September 2026, reaching 3.99 million units. That small national gain sits alongside real differences here in Local Buy Box.

Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Nationally, mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025, according to Realtor.com. Those pressures are real. They show up differently street by street.

Supply is rising in some spots, falling in others

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 578 new listings across all four ZIPs, up 11.6% from a year before. But not every ZIP added supply.

Mission Viejo 92692 added the most new supply, up 25%. Yet its months of supply held at 2.2, unchanged from last year, because sales kept pace. Trabuco Canyon had the most months of supply at 3.7, down 0.6 months from a year before.

One more thing worth knowing: a single street can read differently from its whole ZIP code. A block with more recent builds, a homeowners association, or a different school boundary can shift the numbers. The ZIP tells you the range. Your address tells you where you land.