Dartmouth new listings jump 43% and the median sale price drops below $580,000
The drop in the median came in the latest three-month window, after a spring and summer run that peaked at $649,000. Price per square foot rose 5.4%.
DARTMOUTH Dartmouth homeowners put 100 homes on the market from July to September, 30 more than in the same months a year ago, and the town's median sale price fell to $579,724. That was 10.8% below the $649,900 median for those three months of 2025, according to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage.
The price drop did not show up in every measure. The median price per square foot rose 5.4%, to $367.22 from $348.36. With the two measures moving in opposite directions, the median alone is a poor guide to what any one house is worth. Zillow's home value index, an estimate of what a typical Dartmouth home is worth, was $614,211 in September, up 5.3% from a year earlier.
Redfin reports town figures in three-month windows and counts only sales through listing services. Dartmouth had 76 sales in the latest window, compared with 79 a year earlier, a modest sample in which a few unusually large or small homes can move the median.
Redfin's rolling median had climbed through the spring and early summer, from $575,000 in the window ending in April to $649,000 in the window ending in July, the highest of the past 12. It eased to $632,500 for the window ending in August before falling to $579,724, close to where it sat over the winter.
More choice for buyers
Redfin counted 149 homes for sale at some point during the three months, up from 140, and 74 still for sale at the end of September, up from 57. That works out to 3.0 months of supply, up from 2.2. Sellers were asking less, a median $594,041 compared with $649,900.
Homes have not been sitting, though. Half of them, 50.2%, went under contract within two weeks, up from 44.8% a year earlier, and 80 homes went under contract during the period, up from 67. The median home sold in 29 days, two fewer than last year. A third of sales closed above the asking price, compared with 30.4% a year ago, and the average sale came in at 98.9% of list.
Dartmouth's median ran about $22,000 above Bristol County's September median of $557,752, Redfin figures show. The county number covers one month, so it is a rough yardstick.
Payments and property taxes
At Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate of 7.40% for the week of Oct. 15, a buyer putting 20% down on Dartmouth's median price would pay about $3,211 a month in principal and interest, by our arithmetic. At last year's 6.27%, the same loan would cost $2,862, or $349 less. Property taxes and homeowners insurance would come on top of either amount.
The average single-family tax bill rose $245, or 4.9%, to $5,276 for fiscal 2026, according to the state Department of Revenue. That works out to about 65% of the statewide average bill of $8,113. Dartmouth taxes homes at $8.03 per $1,000 of assessed value and commercial property at $15.78. The average single-family assessment in Dartmouth was $657,047.
Census Bureau figures put new homes authorized from January to August at 19, all single-family, but the town filed no monthly permit reports for those months. The number is a Census Bureau estimate, not a count of permits Dartmouth issued.
Zoning and renters
The state's MBTA Communities law does not reach Dartmouth, but its Planning Board is discussing the town's future zoning. Its agenda for Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. on Zoom lists that discussion, continued from earlier meetings. Earlier that evening, at 5:30 p.m. at Sol E Mar in South Dartmouth, the Dartmouth Housing Authority takes up its fiscal 2027 budget and change orders on the Sol E Mar sewer replacement.
About 24% of Dartmouth households rent, by Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates for 2020 to 2024, and 48.4% of those renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent. Median rent in the survey was $1,462 a month. Zillow's observed rent index, which tracks asking rents, was $2,649 in September, with no year-earlier figure for the town.
Label: Reported by us, from public housing market data and records.
How we verified this
Every figure in this story comes from the public data sets and town agendas linked above, read Oct. 18, 2026, and the monthly payment estimates are our own arithmetic on Redfin's median price and Freddie Mac's rates.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (11)
- Redfin Data Center, city and county housing market data (updated Oct. 7, 2026)Dartmouth new listings, median sale price, price per square foot, sales, homes for sale, months of supply, median asking price, pending sales, share off market in two weeks, days on market, share sold above list and sale-to-list for July to September 2026 and 2025, and the rolling medians for the 12 windows ending October 2025 to September 2026; Bristol County median for September 2026. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Zillow Research data, Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, September 2026Dartmouth home value index of $614,211 with its year-over-year change, and rent index of $2,649. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of Oct. 15, 202630-year fixed rate of 7.40% and year-earlier rate of 6.27% (Oct. 16, 2025). Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, average single-family tax bill, fiscal 2026 (data current as of Oct. 18, 2026)Average single-family bill of $5,276 in fiscal 2026 and $5,031 in fiscal 2025, average single-family value of $657,047. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, tax rates by class, fiscal 2026Residential rate of $8.03 and commercial rate of $15.78 per $1,000. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- FY2026 statewide average single-family tax bill, Massachusetts Department of Revenue (published Feb. 19, 2026)Statewide average single-family bill of $8,113. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, Northeast places, year to date through August 2026Estimated 19 single-family units authorized January to August 2026; the town reported none of the eight months, so the figure is imputed by the Census Bureau. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, MBTA Communities compliance status sheet as of Aug. 31, 2026Dartmouth does not appear among the communities covered by the law. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Town of Dartmouth Planning Board agenda, Oct. 19, 2026Continued discussion of future zoning, 7 p.m., remote. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Dartmouth Housing Authority agenda, Oct. 19, 2026 (posted Oct. 9, 2026)Fiscal 2027 budget, state funding amendments and Sol E Mar sewer replacement change orders, 5:30 p.m., Sol E Mar. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, summary fileOccupied and owner-occupied homes (renter share), median rent of $1,462 and the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent. Read Oct. 18, 2026.