Published October 16, 2026 in Market Update

Higher rates are not stopping every Gig Harbor buyer

By Lisa Wray

Real estate, Gig Harbor

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. That is real. It changes what buyers can afford and how carefully they shop. But it did not empty the market here. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 272 pending sales across Gig Harbor in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Demand shifted. It did not disappear.

That 272 is down 9.9% from a year ago, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. So yes, fewer buyers are moving forward than last year. But the ones who are moving forward are still closing. That matters if you are pricing a home or trying to decide whether to list.

What the rate picture looks like right now

Redfin reported a weekly average mortgage rate of 7.4% on October 8, 2026, a three-year high. CNBC reported that Fannie Mae is forecasting a 30-year fixed rate of 7.4% through the fourth quarter of 2026. Redfin also put the typical homebuyer's monthly payment at $2,777, the highest on record except for the week before. These are not small numbers. They are shaping who can buy and at what price.

Gig Harbor prices are still moving up

Even with rates where they are, prices here did not fall. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows all three ZIP codes posting higher median sale prices than a year ago. The gains were not tiny either.

98335: steady and quick

In ZIP 98335, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 121 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 1.7% from a year ago. The median sale price was $970,000, up 4.9%. Homes sat on the market a median of 16 days. Nearly half, 48.3%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. Sellers got 99.8% of their list price on average. That is a tight, active market.

98332: prices up, but buyers taking a little longer

ZIP 98332 had the highest median sale price of the three, at $1,022,441, up 8.8% from a year ago per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes sold faster too: a median of 13 days, which was 9 days shorter than last year. That is the biggest speed improvement of any ZIP code here. Still, pending sales in 98332 dropped 14.4% year over year, and months of supply rose to 3.8. More homes are sitting available even as the ones that do sell move quickly. Buyers in this range are choosier about which homes they commit to.

98329: prices jumped, but fewer homes are selling

ZIP 98329 tells a more mixed story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median sale price rose 14.4% to $675,000, the strongest price gain of any ZIP here. But only 36 homes sold, down 35.7% from a year ago. Homes took a median of 31 days to sell, which was 19 days longer than last year. Pending sales fell 28.6%. The share of homes going under contract within two weeks dropped 18.6 points to 35%. Fewer buyers are moving, and the ones who are take more time. Pricing carefully matters more here than in the other two ZIPs.

The national picture adds context

Nationally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Gig Harbor's price gains in all three ZIP codes are running well ahead of that. Realtor.com noted that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That tells you sellers elsewhere are adjusting. Here, sale-to-list ratios are holding near 99.8% across the board, which means Gig Harbor sellers are not giving much away. But the national trend is a reminder: price it right from day one.

What this means if you are selling

Buyers are still here. In 98335 and 98332, nearly half of homes are going under contract within two weeks. But buyers at 7.4% rates are doing the math hard. They are skipping homes that feel overpriced. The homes that sell fast are priced to match what the market will actually pay, not what sellers hope it will pay. The 99.8% sale-to-list ratio in 98335 tells you that gap is small right now. Keep it that way.

What this means if you are buying

A monthly payment of $2,777 is real pressure, per Redfin. But 98329 has a median sale price of $675,000 and homes are taking 31 days to sell. That is more room to negotiate than you get in 98335 or 98332. More supply, more time, and a seller who has been waiting. The tradeoff is that fewer homes are coming to market there. You may have to move when one appears.

These numbers cover the three months ending August 31, 2026. A single street or neighborhood can look very different from the ZIP code around it. If you want to know what the numbers say about your specific block, send me your address and I will take a look.