Published September 24, 2026 in Market Update

West Roxbury Sellers Got Over Asking Less Often by Summer

By Juan Murray

Real estate, West Roxbury

Earlier this year, West Roxbury felt like a seller's market with no ceiling. Seven in ten homes were selling at or above what they first asked. Then summer arrived, and the number dropped. Not a little. From 71% down to 53.6%. That is a real shift, and it shows up in the data clearly enough that sellers need to know about it before they pick a price.

The share of homes selling at or over asking fell nearly 18 points from winter to summer

In February and March 2026, 71% of West Roxbury homes sold at or over their first asking price. That covered 31 sales. By June and July 2026, that share had fallen to 53.6% across 56 sales. The market did not collapse, but the cushion sellers had in winter got noticeably thinner by summer. A seller who priced in February expecting the same result in July would have been disappointed.

At $1.2M and up, more than one in four homes gave up without a sale. At $950K to $1.2M, the rate was 3%.

Across all 179 sales, 21 homes came off the market with no sale at all. That is 1.2 for every 10 that sold. But the number is not spread evenly. At $1.2M and up, 25.8% of homes gave up without a sale. At $950K to $1.2M, only 3% did. Those two ranges sit right next to each other in price, and the gap between them is more than 22 points. Price too high and the odds of walking away with nothing go up sharply. The typical first asking price of homes that gave up was $110,000 higher than the typical first asking price of homes that sold. Below $950K, the give-up rate stays in single digits across every range: 6.8% under $650K, 9.1% from $650K to $750K, and 10.2% from $750K to $950K. The pattern is consistent. The further a price climbs past what the market will bear, the more likely a seller ends up with nothing to show for it.

Homes that found a buyer in the first month got 102.3% of what they first asked. Homes that took three months got 94.7%.

Speed and price are connected in West Roxbury, and the data makes that gap concrete. The 121 homes that sold within the first month got a typical sale price equal to 102.3% of what they first asked. The 14 homes that took three months or longer got only 94.7%. That is a 7.6-point difference between moving fast and moving slow. If a home is not finding a buyer in the first month, the price is almost certainly the reason, and waiting costs more than adjusting. The typical home that sold in month two was already at 97.1% of its first price. By month three, it was at 94.7%. There is also a meaningful difference in days: homes that sold in month one took a typical 18 days. Homes that sold in month two took a typical 41 days. Homes in month three took a typical 73 days. The longer a home sits, the harder it becomes to recover the original price. A price that looked reasonable at launch is getting cut by month two, and cut again by month three.

What this means for you right now

If you are selling, the window for easy over-asking results has narrowed. Right now, 36.6% of the 41 homes for sale in West Roxbury have already dropped their price, with a typical cut of $50,000. That is money sellers gave up because they started too high. The $750K to $950K range is still producing strong results, with a typical sale at 102.3% of first asking for the homes that sold there, but that result belongs to homes that priced correctly from day one. The ones that needed a cut are already paying for it. Supply is still tight at 1.5 months, which is firmly in seller territory, but that number does not protect a home that is overpriced.

If you are buying, the data gives you something to work with. Homes that have been on the market past 30 days are selling at 97.1% or less of their first price. That gap is real negotiating room. Rates are not helping: the 30-year fixed averaged 6.95% as of September 17, 2026, up from 6.76% the week before and well above the 6.26% from a year ago, according to Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey. Every point of rate matters at these prices. A home sitting past its first month is worth a closer look.