Published October 27, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market sales rose even with mortgage rates above 7%

Rates are high. That is true and worth saying plainly. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. That is real money added to every monthly payment. But buyers across the Primary market kept buying anyway.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,753 homes sold across the Primary market in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 2.6% from the same months of 2025. Demand did not disappear when rates climbed.

The rate picture right now

Realtor.com reported rates as high as 7.40% on October 22, 2026. Realtor.com also noted that mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Higher payments are a real factor for every buyer writing an offer right now.

What the Primary market did anyway

Sales were up, but pending sales slipped 3.9% from a year before, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is worth watching. Fewer contracts signed now can mean fewer closings ahead. Not every signal points the same way.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also counted 2,186 homes for sale, down 6.5% from a year before. Fewer choices for buyers, which tends to keep prices from falling far.

How each ZIP code performed

The market-wide numbers are one story. Each ZIP code tells its own. Here is how the nine ZIP codes in the Primary market compared in the three months ending August 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Price changes: some up, some down

Scottsdale stood out. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median sale price in 85258 up 20.1% from a year before, to $970,000. In 85251, it rose 17.8% to $630,000. Those are real gains, though both ZIP codes took longer to sell than a year ago.

On the other side, prices dipped in four ZIP codes. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median in 85310 Glendale down 5.1% to $548,000, and in 85083 Phoenix down 4.3% to $630,500. Lower prices can mean more room to negotiate, which is useful to know before you list.

Speed: how fast homes moved

Glendale's 85310 was the fastest ZIP code. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median at 46 days, one day shorter than a year before. The slowest was 85085 Phoenix at 84 days, which was 8 days longer than a year ago. Not every home sold fast, and that gap between ZIP codes matters when you are setting a price.

How the national picture compares

The National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales nationally reached 3.99 million units in September 2026. National inventory rose to 1.60 million homes, and existing-home prices were up 1.3% from a year before. The Primary market's 2.6% sales gain sits above that national price trend.

Realtor.com reported that September pending home sales were down 11.3% year over year nationally. The Primary market's pending sales fell 3.9%, which is a smaller dip than the national number.

What to watch in each ZIP code

Sales in 85251 Scottsdale jumped 29.9% from a year before, the Real Estate Data Aggregator showed. That is the biggest gain in the Primary market. In 85379 Surprise, sales fell 18.2%. The same market-wide rate environment produced very different results street by street.

Quick contract rates: who moved fastest

In 85083 Phoenix, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 27.9% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share rose 5.7 points from a year before. In 85383 Peoria, the share was 14.8%. Pricing and preparation still decide which side of that line a home lands on.