If you’ve been watching headlines about a red-hot national housing market, our local numbers tell a different story. The Ithaca Board of REALTORS’ June 2026 Monthly Indicators show a market that’s quietly rebalancing — more choices for buyers, more patience required from sellers, and a few signals worth understanding before you list or make an offer.

Inventory Is Building, Not Just Growing

Homes for sale in the Ithaca MLS reached 355 in June 2026, up 43.7% from a year ago. That’s not a one-month spike — it’s the fourth straight year of steady climbs: 189 homes in June 2024, 247 in June 2025, now 355. Months of supply nearly doubled year-over-year, from 3.8 to 5.8.

For context, 5-6 months of supply is generally considered a balanced market — neither strongly favoring buyers nor sellers. After several years hovering near 1-3 months during the low-inventory boom of 2021-2024, we’re approaching genuinely different territory.

Prices Have Softened, and Sales Have Slowed

The headline numbers back this up:

• Median sales price: down 2.5% year-over-year ($369,900 to $360,500), and down 3.6% year-to-date
• Average sales price: down 10.1% year-over-year, down 8.9% year-to-date
• Closed sales: down 11.5% year-over-year (87 to 77)
• Days on market: up 9.1% year-over-year, and up a steeper 31.3% year-to-date
• Percent of list price received: down to 98.8%, from 101.6% a year ago — sellers are no longer routinely fielding over-ask offers

None of this points to a crash. It points to homes taking longer to sell, at prices closer to (or slightly under) list, in a market with more competition among sellers than we’ve seen in years.

The Number That Stands Out Most

Buried in the report is the real story: pending sales dropped 55% in June alone, from 80 a year ago to just 36. That’s a far sharper move than anything else in the data. Because pending sales typically convert to closings within 30-60 days, this is worth watching closely — it suggests closed sales could soften further in the next report or two.

At the same time, new listings kept climbing (+2.3% in June, +6.3% year-to-date). Sellers are still showing up. Buyers are signing contracts more slowly. That gap — more homes listed, fewer going under contract — is exactly what’s driving the inventory buildup.

A Few More Things Worth Knowing

• Affordability actually improved. The Housing Affordability Index rose 9% year-over-year (89 to 97), even with prices still near $360K. Buyers’ purchasing power appears to be catching up, likely helped by rate movement or income growth.
• Local and national trends are diverging. NAR reported national existing-home sales up 3.2% month-over-month and year-over-year in June, with prices at an all-time high nationally. Locally, we saw the opposite on both counts. If a client mentions a national headline, it’s worth clarifying that Tompkins County isn’t necessarily following the same script right now.
• One data point looks like an outlier. February 2026’s median price ($267,250) breaks sharply from the surrounding months — most likely a smaller, unusual sales mix rather than a genuine market shift.

What This Means for You

If you’re selling: Pricing accurately from the start matters more than it did a year or two ago. With more inventory and more days on market, overpricing risks sitting — and price reductions tend to net less than getting it right the first time.

If you’re buying: You have more room to negotiate and more time to decide than buyers have had in years. That said, the sharp drop in pending sales suggests other buyers may be pulling back too — which can be an opportunity for those who stay engaged.

As always, county-wide numbers are a starting point, not the whole picture. Every neighborhood and price band tells its own story. If you want a read on what this means for your specific situation, that’s a conversation worth having.

Data source: Ithaca Board of REALTORS Monthly Indicators, June 2026, compiled from NYS MLS data current as of July 10, 2026.