Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Some parts of this market are much tighter than others

By Scott Barrows | Keller Williams Realty

Real estate, Brighton / Henrietta / Chili / Rush (south and southwest suburbs)

Realtor.com reported that Northeast inventory rose 11.6% year over year in September 2026. That sounds like relief for buyers. But in Brighton, Henrietta, Chili, and Rush, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 86 homes for sale in the three months ending August 31, 2026. The national headline does not describe what is happening here.

More importantly, that 86 is not spread evenly. One ZIP code had just 1 home for sale. Another had 29. The difference between a 0.1-month supply and a 1.9-month supply is the difference between a bidding war and a negotiation. Your ZIP code tells a different story than the market average.

How tight is each area?

Months of supply is the clearest way to read competition. Below 1 month means buyers are competing hard. Above 1.5 months means sellers have a little more company. Here is where each ZIP code stood in the three months ending August 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

ZIP 14428 had just 1 home for sale, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is 0.1 months of supply. Prices there rose 15.6% year over year. ZIP 14514 had 5 homes for sale and 1.9 months of supply. Both are in the same general market. They are not the same experience.

What buyers are seeing

Speed is nearly the same everywhere. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at 7 to 9 days across all eight ZIP codes. That part of the story is consistent.

But how much you pay over list price is not consistent. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 92.9% of homes in ZIP 14624 selling above list price. In ZIP 14543, that share was 66.7%. Both are fast markets. One is much more competitive on price.

ZIP 14514 shows 100% of homes selling above list price. That sounds extreme. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 8 homes sold there, so read it as a small sample, not a law. Still, the sale-to-list average was 120.7%, which is real.

What sellers are seeing

Prices are up across the board. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed year-over-year gains in every ZIP code that had comparison data. ZIP 14546 was up 14.1%. ZIP 14428 was up 15.6%. ZIP 14618 was up 4.7%, the smallest gain of the group.

Not every signal is pointing the same direction. In ZIP 14618, the share of homes selling above list price fell 6.2 points year over year, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Prices are still up, but the bidding is a little less intense than it was a year ago. That is worth knowing before you set a price.

The national picture does not match this one

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026. Redfin reported the weekly average hit 7.4% on October 8. Higher rates slow buyers down nationally. The Federal Housing Finance Agency put U.S. home price growth at 2.6% year over year through July 2026.

This market is running well ahead of that. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed year-over-year price gains of 9% to 15.6% in several ZIP codes here. Rates matter, but local supply matters more when there are only 86 homes for sale across four towns.

One more thing worth saying: a ZIP code average can still hide a lot. One street in Brighton or Chili can read differently from the ZIP code it sits in. If you want to know what is happening on your block, that takes a closer look.