Published October 11, 2026 in Market Update

Upper Cape has two speeds right now

By Liza Elmstrom

Real estate, Upper Cape

These numbers cover the three months ending August 31, 2026. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 8, 2026. That backdrop is the same for every buyer. What is NOT the same is the supply picture across Upper Cape ZIP codes. That gap is the whole story.

The tightest spots: under 2 months of supply

ZIP 02632 had just 1.3 months of supply, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is the tightest reading in this market. Homes for sale there fell 36.4% from a year before. Sellers held firm: buyers paid 97.5% of list on average.

ZIP 02562 sat at 2 months of supply. ZIP 02556 was at 1.8 months, down 1.7 months from last year. In 02556, 36.8% of homes sold above list price, and the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 43.8% going under contract within two weeks.

Speed: how fast homes are going under contract

The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked how many homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In 02537, that share was 45.2%, up 23 points from a year ago. In 02540, it was 45.2% as well, up 17.5 points. In 02562 and 02556, it was 43.8% each.

On the slower end, 02648 saw 26.1% go under contract in two weeks. In 02668, it was 20%. ZIP 02534 and 02543 each came in at 0% for that window.

Where supply is looser and prices dipped

ZIP 02537 had 4.6 months of supply, up 2.2 months from a year ago. Homes for sale there jumped 65%, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. More choices for buyers, more competition for sellers.

ZIP 02540 had 4.1 months of supply, up 1.3 months. Median price there rose 13.1% to $990,000. But homes sold fell 26.1% and pending sales dropped 35.4%. More supply, fewer closings.

ZIP 02655 saw its median price fall 19.6% to $1,035,000. Days on market stretched to 39, the longest in this market. Buyers paid just 95.7% of list on average. Not every ZIP is moving fast.

What rates are doing to buyers right now

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 8, 2026. The 15-year averaged 6.73%. Nationally, Realtor.com reported price cuts hit 20.8% of listings in September, the highest since October 2022.

That national picture does show up in some Upper Cape ZIPs. But in the tightest ones here, buyers are still moving fast. ZIP 02556 had just 1.8 months of supply and nearly 44% of homes went under contract within two weeks, even at these rates.

Prices: a wide range across Upper Cape

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows median sale prices ranging from $630,000 in 02532 to $1,075,000 in 02556 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. Some ZIPs saw double-digit gains. Others dipped. Pricing to the specific ZIP matters a lot.

A note on 02543

ZIP 02543 had 24.5 months of supply and 0% of homes went under contract within two weeks, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Only 1 home sold in the period. That is a very small sample. Read those numbers carefully before drawing conclusions.