Bristol County home sales rose 15% in September as national sales slipped

SOUTH COAST Home sales on the South Coast rose in September from a year earlier while sales across the country fell, the latest monthly reports from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, or MAR, and the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, show. Bristol County recorded 348 single-family home sales, up 15.2% from September 2025, and Plymouth County recorded 427, up 6.7%. Nationally, existing-home sales were down 2.2% from a year earlier.

Prices in Bristol County barely moved, and homes took longer to sell. The county's median single-family price rose 0.8% to $564,500, the number of homes for sale climbed 12.5%, and MAR's count of days on the market before a sale rose to 49 from 38.

The national picture

Existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million in September, up 1.5% from August and down 2.2% from a year earlier, NAR reported Oct. 13. Sales fell from a year earlier in all four of the regions NAR tracks. In the Northeast, which includes Massachusetts, the annual rate dropped 2.1% from August to 470,000, and sales were 4.1% below September 2025.

The national median price was $417,500, up 1.3% from a year earlier and the 39th straight month of annual gains, according to NAR. There were 1.60 million homes for sale, a 4.8-month supply at the current pace, up from 4.5 months a year ago. The median home spent 33 days on the market, up from 31 in August and the same as a year earlier.

"Despite the small monthly gain on a seasonally adjusted basis, August and September marked the two slowest months for home sales this year," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the release. "Further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify to purchase a home."

Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the national average for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.40% as of Oct. 15, unchanged from the week before and up from 6.27% a year earlier. NAR, citing Freddie Mac, put the September average at 6.86%, compared with 6.35% in September 2025.

Bristol and Plymouth counties

Bristol County's 348 single-family sales compare with 302 a year earlier, MAR's county report shows. Through September, the county recorded 2,434 single-family sales, up 2.8%, at a median price of $559,000, up 1.6%. MAR counted 791 single-family homes for sale in September, a 2.9-month supply, against 703 homes and 2.6 months a year earlier. Sellers received 98.2% of their original asking price in MAR's measure, down from 99.6%.

Plymouth County, which includes Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham along with towns closer to Boston, recorded 427 single-family sales, up from 400. Its median price rose 2.4% to $680,000, and MAR's days on market fell to 42 from 46. The county had 973 homes for sale, down 3.1%, a 2.6-month supply. For the year to date, Plymouth County sales were up 2.8% and its median price was up 5.4% to $685,000.

Statewide, MAR reported 3,714 single-family closings in September, up 4.8%, at a median price of $670,000, up 2.4%, while condominium closings fell 6.4%.

Town by town

The 15 South Coast towns SC360 covers recorded 237 single-family sales in September, by our count of MAR's town table. Sales rose from a year earlier in eight of them (Acushnet, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fall River, Freetown, Rehoboth, Wareham and Westport), fell in four (Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, New Bedford and Swansea) and held even in Marion, Rochester and Somerset.

New Bedford had the most sales, 38, down 2.6%, and its median price rose 3.2% to $440,000. Fall River had 24 sales, up 50%, at a median of $417,000, down 7.8%. Wareham had 28 sales, up 16.7%, at a median of $485,000, down 7.6%, and Dartmouth had 25 sales, up 19%, at a median of $599,900, down 13.7%. Westport's 23 sales were up 91.7%, at a median of $689,000, down 11.9%.

MAR counted 101 single-family homes for sale in New Bedford, up 44.3%, and 79 in Fall River, up 51.9%. Every town but New Bedford had fewer than 30 sales in the month, and MAR notes on each county report that "activity for one month can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size." Mattapoisett's median, for example, rose 61.6% to $1,285,000 on seven sales.

What the reports say about why

MAR's reports give no reasons for the local gains, and SC360 did not ask local officials or real estate groups about the September figures for this story. Yun tied the national slowdown to mortgage rates, which Freddie Mac reports as a single national average. He also said "higher inventory and lengthening days on market give buyers improved negotiating power," and that sellers "need to be realistic about local market conditions, which could require price discounts and other incentives to attract buyers."

Single-family supply in Bristol County (2.9 months) and Plymouth County (2.6 months) remains below NAR's 4.8 months for all existing homes nationally. NAR's sales pace is seasonally adjusted and counts condos with houses, while MAR's local numbers are actual monthly closings from listing services. Every local comparison in this story is against the same period a year earlier, which NAR calls the only valid comparison for median prices because of seasonal buying patterns.

Freddie Mac releases its next weekly rate survey at noon Thursday, Oct. 22.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.