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Reported by us | Freetown

Freetown listings nearly double, and buyers take their time

More homes came on the market and more sold, but they sold more slowly and a smaller share went above the asking price.

By South Coast 360 staff | Published Oct. 18, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 18, 2026, 10:49 p.m. ET

FREETOWN Freetown homeowners put nearly twice as many homes on the market this summer as they did a year ago. Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, counted 43 new listings in the town from July to September, up from 23 in the same months of 2025, and 71 homes for sale at some point during the period, up from 41.

Buyers absorbed much of it. Sales rose to 30 from 18, and 39 homes went under contract, up from 23. At the end of September, 28 homes remained for sale, up from 19, but because sales rose faster, Redfin's measure of supply fell to 2.8 months from 3.2.

Prices held still. The median sale price was $619,705, down 0.4% from $622,500, and the median price per square foot was $320.24, about even with $319.88. Zillow's home value index put a typical Freetown home at $592,870 in September, 4.8% higher than a year earlier.

Redfin's town figures cover rolling three-month windows and only sales through listing services, and Freetown's are small. One window this year held nine sales, and over the past 12 the median ranged from $550,000 to $630,000.

A slower pace

Homes sold more slowly. The median home spent 44 days on the market, nine days longer than a year earlier, and only 17.8% went under contract within two weeks, down from 26.1%. One in six sold above asking, 16.7%, down from 22.2%, and the average sale closed at 98.2% of list, compared with 98.9%. Asking prices edged up, to a median $608,794 from $599,900.

Bristol County's single-month September median was $557,752, according to Redfin, about $62,000 below Freetown's.

Rail zoning and land

Freetown is a commuter rail community under the state's MBTA Communities law, required to zone for at least 750 multifamily homes. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities listed it as compliant as of Aug. 31, after the town adopted zoning that had gone through a state review beforehand.

The town itself was a buyer this year. The Fall River Registry of Deeds' list of significant sales shows the Town of Freetown bought undeveloped land on Bullock Road for $2.46 million, recorded Jan. 8. A commercial property at 52 County Road sold for $2 million, recorded Jan. 21.

Census Bureau data estimate 12 new single-family homes were authorized from January to August. Only five of those eight months' reports came from Freetown itself, accounting for seven homes; the bureau filled in the rest.

Taxes, payments and rents

Freetown's average single-family tax bill for fiscal 2026 is $5,501, up $234, or 4.4%, state Department of Revenue figures show. That is roughly two-thirds of the statewide average of $8,113. Homes are taxed at $9.78 per $1,000 of assessed value; commercial property pays $21.21. Single-family homes there carried an average assessment of $562,426.

At Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate of 7.40% for the week of Oct. 15, up from 6.27% a year earlier, a buyer with 20% down on Freetown's median would pay about $3,433 a month in principal and interest, by our arithmetic, $374 more than at last year's rate, with taxes and insurance still to be added.

Owners live in 86.1% of Freetown's occupied homes, according to Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates for 2020 to 2024. The survey's median rent was $1,891, and 31.1% of the town's roughly 454 renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent. Zillow does not publish a rent index 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 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)

  1. Redfin Data Center, city and county housing market data (updated Oct. 7, 2026)Freetown new listings, homes for sale, sales, pending sales, months of supply, median sale price, price per square foot, days on market, share off market in two weeks, share sold above list, sale-to-list and median asking price for July to September 2026 and 2025, and the rolling medians and sales counts for the 12 windows ending October 2025 to September 2026; Bristol County median for September 2026. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  2. Zillow Research data, Zillow Home Value Index, September 2026Freetown home value index of $592,870 and its year-over-year change. Zillow Observed Rent Index has no Freetown series. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  3. Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, MBTA Communities compliance status sheet as of Aug. 31, 2026Freetown listed as compliant, pre-adoption review completed, zoning adopted. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  4. Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, MBTA Communities categories and capacity calculations (June 2025)Commuter rail community category and minimum multifamily capacity of 750 units. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  5. Fall River Registry of Deeds, significant sales list, first quarter 2026Town of Freetown purchase of undeveloped land on Bullock Road, $2,460,000, recorded Jan. 8, 2026; commercial sale at 52 County Road, $2,000,000, recorded Jan. 21, 2026. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  6. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, Northeast places, year to date through August 2026Estimated 12 single-family units authorized January to August 2026, including Census imputation; the town reported five of eight months, covering seven units. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  7. 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 $5,501 in fiscal 2026 and $5,267 in fiscal 2025, average single-family value of $562,426. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  8. Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, tax rates by class, fiscal 2026Residential rate of $9.78 and commercial rate of $21.21 per $1,000. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, summary fileOccupied and owner-occupied homes, median rent of $1,891 and the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent. Read Oct. 18, 2026.

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