Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

More listings are hitting the market, but contracts are rising too

By Erin Kelly

Real estate, Fells Point, Canton & Harbor East

Here is the headline fact: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 543 new listings across Fells Point, Canton and Harbor East in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 8.2% from the same months last year. And yet 381 homes went under contract in the same period, up 7.3%. More supply came in, and demand kept pace. That does not happen in a market that has given up.

There is a catch, though. Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025, rising nearly 40 basis points over four weeks. Nationally, Realtor.com also found homes under contract down 4.1% year over year. This market held up better than that national picture, but rates are real pressure on buyers right now.

Supply is up more than demand, which means buyers have real choices now. That is a shift. Sellers who price carefully still move homes. Sellers who overprice are sitting longer. The data below shows how differently each neighborhood is reading.

Each neighborhood tells its own story

Fells Point (21231): the tightest market of the three

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 65 homes sold in Fells Point in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 19.8% from a year before. Fewer sales, but the homes that did sell went for a median of $340,000, up 5.4%. The sale-to-list ratio was 99.4%, and it actually improved 0.6 points from last year. Nearly 1 in 3 homes sold above list price, up 3 points year over year. Median days on market held steady at 33 days. This is a market where well-priced homes are not waiting around.

Canton (21224): the most active market by volume

Canton is where the bulk of the activity lives. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 255 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 2% from a year before. Pending sales rose 13.6% to 267. New listings came in at 343, up 3.3%. The median sale price was $325,750, up 3.4%. Homes sat a median of 34 days, just one day longer than last year. The share of homes that sold above list price dipped 5.3 points to 25.1%, which tells you buyers have a little more room to negotiate than they did. Still, 41.2% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing.

Harbor East (21202): prices up sharply, but homes are taking longer

Harbor East tells the most complicated story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 31 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, down 29.5% from a year before. That is a real drop. At the same time, the median sale price rose 17.4% to $280,000. Fewer homes traded hands, but the ones that did commanded more. The catch: median days on market hit 75, which is 19 days longer than last year. Months of supply reached 10.8, up 2.5 months. The sale-to-list ratio slipped to 96.5%, down 3.2 points. Buyers here have more leverage than they did twelve months ago. Sellers need to price with that in mind.

What rates mean for buyers right now

Realtor.com reported rates above 7% as of late September 2026. CNBC reported the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.41% as of late October 2026. CNBC also noted that a monthly payment on a median-priced home now takes up roughly 33% of a median family's income, compared with 26% in 2022. That gap is real, and it is slowing some buyers down. CNBC found mortgage purchase applications fell 7% in one week and were 18% lower year over year. So the buyers who are active right now are serious. That matters if you are a seller.

What this means if you are selling

More inventory means buyers compare. In Fells and Canton, well-priced homes still move in about 33 to 34 days. In Harbor East, the pace is slower and the sale-to-list gap is wider. Pricing at or just below the market is not giving up money. It is the strategy that actually gets you to the closing table. Homes that chase a number the market will not support are sitting, and the data shows it.

What this means if you are buying

You have more options than buyers did a year ago. Homes for sale across the three neighborhoods combined rose 12.9% to 500, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. In Harbor East especially, you have negotiating room that did not exist before. In Canton and Fells, well-priced homes still move fast. Know what you want before you find it, because 41% or more of listings in those neighborhoods go under contract within two weeks.