Published October 26, 2026 in Market Update

Auburn is holding steady while the higher price towns keep climbing

By Annie Oakman

Real estate, Primary market

Here is the thing I say to almost every buyer and seller I talk to: do not treat Central Mass like one market. The numbers from the Real Estate Data Aggregator for the three months ending August 31, 2026 show exactly why that matters. Auburn sat still on price while the towns to its east and northeast kept climbing.

Auburn: the price held, and that is actually worth something

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 52 homes sold in Auburn (ZIP 01501) in the three months ending August 31, 2026. The median sale price came in at $480,000, unchanged from the same three months in 2025. That kind of stability is not nothing. Auburn is where the Pike, 290, 395, and Route 20 all come together. Commuters know that. The town holds its value because of location, not hype.

A few things are worth noting honestly. Fewer homes sold than a year ago, down 17.5% according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes for sale rose 45.8% year over year, so buyers have more to look at. The share of homes that sold above list price slipped 7.7 points to 55.8%. Things are a little softer than last year, but 55.8% above list is still a seller-leaning number.

The higher-price towns moved in a different direction

Shrewsbury, Northborough, and Grafton are all east of Worcester and carry higher price tags. They also carry strong schools, which is a main reason buyers pay more to be there. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows all three posted price gains in the same period Auburn held flat.

Grafton's 19.7% price jump to $784,000 is the biggest number on that board, but read it carefully. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 23 homes sold in ZIP 01519 in those three months, down 42.5% from a year ago. Fewer sales can swing a median price hard. Grafton is known for newer construction, which tends to command a premium, and that mix of homes sold in any given quarter shapes the number you see.

Northborough's 7.2% gain to $740,000 came with 71 homes sold, up 57.8%. That is a much larger sample, so the number carries more weight. Northborough and Southborough share Algonquin Regional High School, and that shared school district is a real driver of prices on the east side of the county.

Shrewsbury's 3.5% gain to $660,500 came with the biggest sales volume of the group: 138 homes sold, up 25.5%. More listings came to market too, up 54.1% year over year per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. More supply has not stopped prices from rising there.

What the national picture adds

Nationally, home prices rose 3.8% from a year earlier in September 2026, the fastest annual growth rate since June 2025, according to Redfin. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales in September 2026 reached 3.99 million units, with inventory at 1.60 million homes and prices up 1.3% from a year ago. That backdrop matters because it tells you the broader market is still moving forward, even if it feels slower than a few years ago.

Rates are part of why things feel slower. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. Realtor.com reported the average mortgage rate at 7.40% as of the same date. Those numbers are real, and they affect what buyers can afford each month. That is one reason Auburn at $480,000 still draws serious buyers: the monthly payment math works better there than it does in Northborough or Grafton.

What this means if you own or are buying in one of these towns

If you own in Auburn, your price held while rates climbed. That is a solid position. More homes are on the market now than a year ago, up 45.8% per the Real Estate Data Aggregator, so buyers have choices. Pricing right matters more than it did in 2024.

If you are buying and the east-side towns feel out of reach, Auburn is worth a serious look. The commute access is genuinely better than most towns in the area. The Pike, 290, 395, and Route 20 all meet there. That is not marketing, that is a map.

If you are buying in Shrewsbury or Northborough, the market there is still moving. Shrewsbury had 55.1% of homes go under contract within two weeks of listing, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Northborough had 44.3%. Neither of those is a slow market.