Published October 16, 2026 in Market Update

Cottonwood moved more homes even with rates above 7.5%

By Katie Luther

Real estate, Cottonwood

Rates are high. Buyers are still showing up in Cottonwood anyway.

KRCR News reported mortgage rates blew past 7.5% on October 16, 2026. Nationally, that has slowed things down. Realtor.com reported price cuts hit 20.8% of listings across the country in September, the highest share since October 2022. Active listings nationally topped 1.16 million homes in September, according to Realtor.com. That is the backdrop.

Cottonwood is reading differently. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 56 homes sold in ZIP 96022 in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 40% from the same three months in 2025. Sales volume jumped while the national conversation was about buyers pulling back.

Pending sales tell the same story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 58 pending sales in ZIP 96022 over the same period, up 34.9% from a year before. Those are buyers who signed contracts despite the rate environment. That pipeline matters if you are thinking about listing.

Prices moved up, not down

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in ZIP 96022 at $392,000 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 12% from the same three months in 2025. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose just 2.6% over the same year. Cottonwood outpaced the national number by a wide margin.

Not every home sold fast. The median was 46 days on market, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is five days shorter than a year ago, which is a small honest improvement, not a sprint. Pricing still matters here.

More sellers came to market, and buyers kept pace

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 76 new listings in ZIP 96022 in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 11.8% from a year before. Homes for sale hit 84, up 25.4%. More supply is usually a signal that sellers have the upper hand less. But buyers absorbed it. Sales were up 40% and pending sales were up 34.9%.

Nationally the picture looks different. A report from Realtor.com showed sellers outnumbered buyers in the U.S. market. Cottonwood did not follow that script over this period.

How sellers are doing at the price they set

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the average sale-to-list ratio at 98.3% in ZIP 96022 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 0.6 points from a year before. Sellers are getting very close to what they ask. About 21.4% of homes sold above list price, up 6.4 points from the same period in 2025.

One number to watch: 24.1% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is down 3.8 points from a year ago. Fewer homes are flying off the shelf in the first two weeks. Most sales are still happening, just on a longer timeline.

One more thing worth saying: ZIP 96022 covers a lot of ground. A home on a paved road with a shop and good water reads differently than one farther out with access questions or fire risk. The ZIP code number gives you the direction. Your road gives you the real story.