Published October 15, 2026 in Market Update

Newburyport prices eased, but buyers still moved quickly

By Vladimir Babic

Real estate, Newburyport

Prices in Newburyport came down. That is the honest headline for the three months ending August 31, 2026. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $937,000, down 11.2% from the same stretch in 2025. For sellers, that means you have less room to push on price than you did a year ago. For buyers, it means you may find a little more breathing room than you expected.

Here is what makes Newburyport different from the national picture. Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings across the country in September, the highest share since October 2022. Nationally, sellers outnumber buyers. But in Newburyport, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 76 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 13.4% from a year before. Demand here did not disappear when prices softened.

Buyers are still competing, even with rates above 7%

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 8, 2026. That is a real cost. Realtor.com noted that rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. And yet, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows that homes in Newburyport sold at an average of 100.7% of list price during the three months ending August 31, 2026. Sellers still got a little above asking, on average. That number was up 0.8 points from the year before.

The share of homes that sold above list price tells the same story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 42.1% of Newburyport homes selling above asking in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That share was up 4.8 points from 2025. Prices eased, but the competition did not go away.

Nearly half went under contract in two weeks

Speed matters here. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 46.6% of Newburyport homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, in the three months ending August 31, 2026. The median time on market was 23 days, just 3 days longer than the year before. Homes are taking a little longer than they did, but not much. If you are a buyer, that is not a lot of time to think.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. home prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Nationally, prices are still moving up, just slowly. Newburyport's 11.2% price drop stands apart from that trend. It may reflect the mix of homes that sold, or a real shift in what buyers here will pay. Either way, the local number is the one that matters for your decision.

More homes came to market, and more sold

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 90 new listings in Newburyport in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 16.9% from a year before. Homes for sale rose to 62, up 31.9%. That is more choice for buyers. But sellers kept up: 76 homes closed, and 73 were pending. Supply is up, but so is activity. At 2.5 months of supply, this is still a market where well-priced homes move.

One thing to keep in mind: these numbers cover all of ZIP code 01950. One street can read very differently from the ZIP as a whole. A smaller home near the waterfront, a condo on a quieter block, a larger colonial farther out: each one has its own story inside these totals.