Published October 27, 2026 in Market Update

Santa Fe Is Moving Faster Even With Prices Holding Steady

By April Aberle, REALTOR® | RE/MAX Crossroads Realty

Real estate, Santa Fe/Alvin

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026, the first time since January 2025. That is the headline most homeowners are reading. But the numbers the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted in Santa Fe for the three months ending August 31, 2026 tell a calmer story. Homes are selling. Prices are holding. And the market is moving faster than it was a year ago.

That does not mean every street looks the same. The two Santa Fe ZIP codes, 77510 and 77517, are reading differently right now. And Alvin, just down the road, has its own pace. Here is what the data actually shows.

ZIP 77510: The Bigger Market Is Picking Up Speed

ZIP 77510 is the larger of the two Santa Fe ZIPs. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 75 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 8.7% from the same period in 2025. More homes sold, and they sold faster. The median days on market dropped to 54 days, which is 17 days shorter than a year ago. That is a real shift.

The median sale price in 77510 came in at $330,000, up just 0.5% from a year ago according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is steady, not surging. Sellers are not getting big windfalls, but they are not giving ground either. The average home sold for 97.7% of its list price, up 0.1 points from 2025. That is a small move, but it points in the right direction.

One number stands out on the supply side. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 90 homes for sale in 77510 during this period. That is down 25.6% from a year ago. Fewer choices for buyers usually means less pressure on sellers to cut. Months of supply fell to 3.7, down 1.7 months from 2025. That is a meaningful tightening.

New listings in 77510 rose 8.6% to 114, so sellers are coming to market. But buyers are keeping up. Pending sales reached 78, up 8.3% from 2025. The pipeline is moving. About 12% of homes sold above list price, up 4.7 points from a year ago. That is still a small share, but it is growing.

ZIP 77517: Fewer Sales, But the Fastest Movers

ZIP 77517 is a smaller part of the Santa Fe market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 17 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 48.5% from the same period in 2025. With small counts like this, one or two sales can swing the numbers. Read these figures as a general direction, not a precise trend.

The median sale price in 77517 came in at $370,000, down 6.3% from 2025. That dip is worth watching. It may reflect the mix of homes that sold rather than a broad price drop, but it is a real number. Sellers here should price carefully.

Here is the striking part. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median days on market in 77517 fell to just 15 days. That is 44 days shorter than a year ago. And half of all homes that listed went under contract within two weeks, up 30 points from 2025. When a home is priced right in 77517, it is not sitting.

Supply in 77517 tightened too. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 30 homes for sale, down 40% from 2025. But months of supply ticked up to 5.4 months, up 0.8 months, because sales volume fell so sharply. That is the tension in this ZIP right now: less inventory, but also fewer buyers closing.

Alvin, ZIP 77511: More Volume, Steady Prices

Alvin's 77511 is the busiest ZIP in this market by far. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 154 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 12.4% from 2025. More homes selling here than in both Santa Fe ZIPs combined.

The median sale price in 77511 came in at $299,863, up 5.2% from a year ago. That is the strongest price gain of the three ZIPs. Homes averaged 98.1% of list price, though that was down 0.3 points from 2025. Sellers are still getting close to asking, just not quite as close as last year.

One number to watch in Alvin: the share of homes that sold above list price fell 8.6 points to 10.4%. That tells you buyers have a little more room to negotiate than they did a year ago. Pending sales also slipped 18.1% to 154. The market is active, but buyers are being more selective.

Alvin is home to a mix of buyers, including families tied to plant and refinery work in the area. That steady local employment base tends to keep demand more consistent than markets that depend mainly on Houston commuters.

The Wider Picture: Rates and National Trends

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price reductions in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Active listings across the country grew 5.5% year over year to 1.16 million homes. Nationally, there is more supply and more price cutting.

Santa Fe is not following that script, at least not in 77510. Supply there fell sharply and prices barely moved. That gap between the national story and the local one is worth knowing if you are deciding when to list.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. The 0.5% gain in Santa Fe's 77510 is below that national pace, but it is still a gain. Prices are not falling here.

What This Means for Santa Fe Homeowners

If you own in 77510, the story is encouraging. Fewer competing homes, more buyers closing, and prices that held steady even as rates climbed past 7%. A well-priced home here is not waiting long.

If you own in 77517, pricing matters more. The median sale price slipped 6.3%, and overall sales volume dropped sharply. But the homes that did sell moved in 15 days. The market rewards the right price. It punishes the wrong one.

If you own in Alvin's 77511, you have a deep, active market. Prices are up 5.2%, and 154 homes sold in just three months. Buyers have a little more negotiating room than last year, so list price strategy still matters.

One thing worth noting about Santa Fe: many homes here are on acreage with septic and well rather than city sewer and water. That is normal in this market and not a drawback. But buyers coming from more urban areas sometimes need that explained. Knowing your property's setup before you list helps the process go smoothly.

These are ZIP code numbers for the three months ending August 31, 2026. One street, one neighborhood, or one property type can read very differently from the whole ZIP. If you want to know what the data says about your specific home, reach out.