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Prices, inventory, and demand — distilled every month into one clear verdict: buyer’s market or seller’s. The investor’s read, before you make an offer.
The median asking price in Durham is about $408,000 as of Sep 2026, down 6.1% from a year ago. That is the asking price on listed homes, so sold-price and home-value sites show different numbers (why).
Yes, if you negotiate. Buyers have more room in Durham than usual. Compared with 2017–2019 at this time of year, there are 68% more homes for sale, and 27% of sellers have cut their price, against 19% then. There are more homes for sale than at any time in ten years. Sellers are competing harder for you than they used to. Use it.
Asking price per square foot in Durham is 25.3% below its May 2022 high and down 5.1% over the last year. Prices were above the year before in 65% of months since the data starts, so drops here have not always reversed quickly. 27% of sellers have cut their price. Underwrite with no price growth for now and let the seller carry the next cut.
There are 1,167 homes for sale in Durham, 68% more than in 2017–2019 at this time of year. That count is up 8% on last year, with 436 new listings this month. The build-up is biggest in 27704 (129 for sale, 140% above its 2017–2019 level) and 27703 (379 for sale, 103% above its 2017–2019 level). More choice means you can walk away from any home priced for the market of three years ago.
For every 100 homes still for sale, 43 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 46. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. About 1 in 4 sellers has already dropped their price. Each one has learned their first price was too high. Start your offer below their new price.
The typical Durham listing has been on the market 61 days. That is 11% longer than a year ago. There are 1,167 homes for sale in Durham. That is the most in ten years. It is 6 times the low of Mar 2022. Every one of them competes with the house you want.
The median asking price is 16.8% below its Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower. Durham prices rose in only 72 of the last 111 months. This market goes up and down. Timing matters here. Growth will not rescue a bad price.
There is no rush. Prices are still coming down. Watch the homes you like. Come back after they cut. Let the seller move first.
Ranked among the 21 North Carolina markets we track:
In Durham, 44 out of every 100 households rent. That is nearly half. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 46 in 100. Durham added about 4,800 renter households in five years. Renter households average 2.1 people. Singles and couples rent here. Two bedrooms beat four.
Households grew 13% in five years. The housing stock grew 13%. The two are moving in step. 7.3% of homes sit empty. That is normal for a healthy market.
The median Durham household earns $82,426 a year. Incomes here have grown 6.3% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 4.9 times the median income. That is the national middle. Neither cash flow nor appreciation is free here. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $2,061 a month.
To see what one Durham address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.
Read how price cuts signal a market turning and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.
The median asking price in Durham is about $408,000 as of Sep 2026, down 6.1% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Durham figures cover the 15 ZIP codes with a Durham mailing address, which can reach past city limits.
Buyers have more room in Durham than usual. We compare Durham with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 68% more homes for sale; 27% of sellers have cut their price, against 19% then; the typical listing has been up 26% more days.
The median asking price is 16.8% below its Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.
27701. Only 25 homes under contract for every 100 still for sale. 25% of sellers there have cut their price, and the typical listing has been up 82 days.
Across 9 full years, Durham asking prices ran lowest in January, about 4.8% below the year's average. They peaked in June. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 18% above the yearly average.
Assume -0.8% a year. Durham grew 6.0% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Durham loses about 0.8% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices fell 5.1% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Durham County is $1,711 a month for 2 bedrooms and $2,117 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.
ZIP 27703 is on both lists. That is rare. It is the one place in Durham where leverage and growth overlap.
| ZIP | $/sqft, 2 yrs | $/sqft now | Buyers per home | For sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27707 | +2.2% | $274 | 0.31 | 167 |
| 27712 | -2.4% | $219 | 0.52 | 72 |
| 27703 | -6.3% | $204 | 0.53 | 379 |
| 27704 | -7.4% | $213 | 0.60 | 129 |
| 27713 | -9.2% | $223 | 0.34 | 175 |
Computed from each ZIP's own ten-year history. ZIPs with fewer than 10 homes for sale are excluded: a median across a handful of listings is noise, not a signal.
Durham has 15 ZIP codes. Each links to its live market dashboard.
Closest matches on asking price, price per square foot, time on market, buyer demand, and price cuts.
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