Tri-State Market Update 3rd Quarter 2026

The regional housing market in the third quarter of 2026 continued to show an array of results based on pricing and geography.  Across the 21 counties Howard Hanna Rand Realty serves in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the third quarter of 2026 continued to show a housing market shaped heavily by geography. Across the 21 counties serviced by Howard Hanna Rand Realty in New York, New Jersey, and Connection, the most competitive conditions remained concentrated in the suburban markets closest to New York City, where limited inventory continued to support higher prices and above-asking sales.

We saw this across the region.

• Westchester County closed the quarter with a median sale price of $1,190,000, up 10.1% year over year, while homes sold in a median of just 17 days at 107% of list price with only 1.7 months of inventory.
• Essex County, New Jersey remained similarly competitive, with a 110% sale-to-list ratio, an 18-day median market time, and just 2.1 months of supply. Morris and Passaic Counties also averaged 105% of list price, reinforcing the continued strength of northern New Jersey's seller markets.
• In Western Connecticut, the median sale price reached $1,128,500, up 7% from a year ago, while homes continued to sell for an average of 104% of asking price. At the same time, the market showed some early signs of moderation: closed sales declined about 5% year over year, median days on market increased to 22, and new listings jumped 33%. Even with more homes coming to market, however, inventory remained tight at roughly two months of supply.

Farther from the metro core, buyers generally found more selection and negotiating room.

• Orange County recorded an 8.4% increase in closed sales, a median sale price of $511,000, and four months of inventory.
• Dutchess County saw its median price climb more than 10% to $550,000 as sales increased 3%.
• Sullivan County continued to stand apart from the rest of the region, with 8.4 months of inventory, a $373,000 median sale price, and homes selling at approximately 97% of list price — conditions that provide buyers considerably more leverage than they have in Westchester or the most competitive New Jersey markets.

Transaction volume was mixed across the region, but several markets posted notable gains. Hunterdon County led the region with a 17.3% year-over-year increase in closed sales, while Sullivan rose 10.9%, Orange increased 8.4%, and Monmouth gained 7.2%. At the other end of the spectrum, Hudson County saw sales decline 14.7%, Somerset fell 9.7%, and Union declined 6.6%. At the same time, prices remained remarkably resilient: 17 of the 21 markets posted year-over-year median-price gains, with only Sullivan, Putnam, and Somerset declining and Hudson remaining flat.

The result is a Q3 market that continues to reward sellers in the region's most supply-constrained communities while creating increasingly meaningful opportunities for buyers willing to expand their search geographically.