Published October 20, 2026 in Market Update

Fairfield's coastal market stayed tight even as the U.S. saw more sellers than buyers

By Merry Hampton

Real estate, Fairfield

Nationally, the picture shifted. Redfin counted 1,510,784 home sellers in September, the most since March 2020, against just 928,892 buyers, the lowest since 2013. That means sellers outnumbered buyers by 62.6% across the U.S. Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is the national story. Fairfield's 06824 market told a different one.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 1.3 months of supply in 06824 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 0.4 months from the same period a year before. There were only 59 homes for sale, a drop of 29.8% year over year. New listings fell 7.3% too, to 115. Less inventory, fewer fresh options. That is why buyers here had less room to wait.

Well-priced homes had leverage

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median sale price in 06824 was $1,350,000, up 0.9% from the same three months in 2025. That is a small gain, not a leap. But the sale-to-list numbers say more. Homes averaged 105.9% of list price, up 1.5 points from a year before. Nearly two-thirds of homes sold above list price.

Speed backed that up. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 49.6% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share was up 11.7 points from a year before. Nearly half of what came to market was gone in two weeks. The median home took just 28 days to sell, 11 days faster than the same period last year.

What this means if you own in 06824

Fewer homes for sale means less competition for yours. Homes priced well did not sit. The median was $1,350,000, and 63.2% of sales closed above list. That is not a guarantee for every address. One street can read very differently from the ZIP code as a whole. But the overall conditions here did not look like the national market at all.

If you are buying in 06824, the math is harder. Inventory is down nearly 3 in 10 homes compared with last year. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, and Redfin put September's annual gain at 3.8% nationally. Mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025, according to Realtor.com. All of that adds up to a tighter budget and fewer options.

One note worth raising for any low-lying or waterfront property in 06824: flood zone status and flood insurance costs are worth confirming before you price or make an offer. That question can change the numbers on a specific home even when the broader market is tight.