Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

More listings, more contracts, and rates still matter

By Tammi Montgomery Team

Real estate, Primary (LA)

Here is the number that changes what y'all should do right now. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.03% on September 24, 2026. That is not a small number. But the Real Estate Data Aggregator still counted 1,232 pending sales in Primary (LA) in the three months ending July 31, 2026.

Movement beats mood.

So what does that mean for y'all? It means the market did not freeze up. Sellers listed 1,451 homes. Buyers put 1,232 under contract. That gap between new listings and pending sales is real, but it is not a wall.

Rates are high. People are still moving. Why?

"But 7.03% is too high to buy or sell." That is the objection I hear extremely, extremely often. Here is the honest answer: life does not wait for a perfect rate. Jobs change. Families grow. Estates settle. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,195 actual closings here in just three months. Those were real people who decided to move anyway.

Freddie Mac also tracked the 15-year fixed rate at 6.42% on September 24, 2026. That matters for buyers who can handle a shorter term. It is not a low rate, but it is a real option.

The national picture backs this up

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. Quarter over quarter, prices rose 0.3% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2026. Prices are not falling off a cliff nationally, and that steadiness matters here too.

Realtor.com did note that national median list prices fell 1.3% year over year in August 2026, and that 20.4% of listings saw a price cut that month. That is a real admission: not every seller is getting their first number. Pricing carefully still matters extremely, extremely much.

How the ZIP codes read, side by side

Not every ZIP code tells the same story. Some moved fast. Some sat. Here is where speed differed most.

ZIP 71115 led at 34 days. ZIP 71105 was close behind at 36 days. Meanwhile, ZIP 71109 sat at 130 days and ZIP 71119 at 128 days. Same rate environment, extremely, extremely different results by ZIP.

Where prices moved up and where they dipped

Some prices rose. Some dipped a little. Here is the honest count from the Real Estate Data Aggregator for the three months ending July 31, 2026.

ZIP 71112 saw the strongest year-over-year price gain the Real Estate Data Aggregator recorded: up 11.1%. ZIP 71055 saw the sharpest dip: down 30%. That is a wide range, and it is exactly why one street can read differently from the whole market.

Contracts signed within two weeks tell you who is moving with confidence

Here is a number worth watching. The share of homes that went under contract within two weeks of listing. In ZIP 71105, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 48.8% of homes going under contract that fast. In ZIP 71103, only 5.9% did. Price and condition still decide speed, not rates alone.

What this means for sellers

Realtor.com reported that 20.4% of listings nationally saw a price cut in August 2026. That is nearly 1 in 5. The sellers who avoided a cut priced to where buyers actually are, not where they hoped rates would be. Price right the first time, and the data says buyers are still out there.

What this means for buyers

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,405 homes for sale across Primary (LA) in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is more inventory than contracts signed. Y'all have more room to choose than you did a year ago in several of these ZIPs. The rate is real, but so is the selection.

One street can read extremely, extremely differently from the whole ZIP code. The numbers above cover all of Primary (LA), and your block may sit on a very different part of that range.