# Belmont's Sales Split: Condos Hold Steady, Single-Family Homes Cool
Key Takeaways
•The short answer: Belmont condos and single-family homes are moving differently this year, per local agent Tamela Roche's report. Condo averages rose 3% year-to-date, while single-family and multi-family prices came in 3% to 9% lower.
•The myth: Redfin's blended town-wide figure tells you what your home is worth. It is accurate for the town but misleading for a single home, because it mixes property types that are moving apart.
•The reality: Condos are holding value, and Roche's report shows their median flat. Single-family homes have cooled, and Roche's data puts their median 7% below year-end 2025.
•The bottom line: Price your property type, not the town. Use only 2026 sales of homes like yours.
Why Doesn't Redfin's Town-Wide Number Describe Your House?
If you plan to sell in Belmont this fall, the headline number can feel confusing.
Per Redfin, the town's median sale price was $1.4M over the three months ending August 2026, 3.3% under the same stretch a year earlier. That is a fair picture of the whole town. But it blends condos, single-family homes and other property types, and in 2026 those groups have split apart.
Roche updated her report on September 14. It uses MLS Pinergy listing-service data for the 02478 ZIP code and compares 2026 so far, or "year-to-date," with all of 2025.
On that basis, condo averages rose 3%, while single-family and multi-family prices came in 3% to 9% lower. The table below shows condos next to single-family and multi-family homes, which Roche reports together.
Year-to-Date Price Direction by Segment
Shows the split in Belmont’s year-to-date pricing direction through August 31, 2026.
| Category | Year-to-date price change |
|---|---|
| Condominium average sale price | increased 3% year-to-date |
| Single Family and Multi-Family home sale prices | decreased 3% to 9% year-to-date |
Your property type matters more than the town-wide trend. A condo seller and a single-family seller who both lean on the town figure could misprice in opposite directions.
What Did August Actually Show for Each Type of Home?
Condos. Roche's report shows the condo median flat year-to-date at $925,000, the second-highest on record. The condo average reached a record $1,054,618. HelloCondo's August condo average was $1,221,000, compared with $955,166.67 in July. A swing that large reflects which units sold, not a real one-month change in value. The median is the better guide.
Condo owners near Belmont Center and Waverley Square should also watch zoning. In November 2024, Town Meeting adopted the MBTA Communities 3A overlay by a 213-8 vote, per homesearchwithzz. The overlay is a state-required zoning area that allows more apartments and condos near transit. Homesearchwithzz reports it allows 1,632 units of total zoned capacity near those two centers. It did not cause today's split, but new units could add condo competition there later.
Single-family homes. Roche's data puts the single-family median at $1,630,000, 7% below year-end 2025. This is still the priciest segment in town.
Multi-family homes. Roche's data shows both average and median prices 3% lower.
Pace. Redfin shows homes selling in 19 days, compared with 15 days last year. It also shows 2 offers on average and 66 homes sold in August, compared with 69. These are town-wide figures, so they don't show which segment slowed. The market is not frozen, but buyers are comparing carefully.
"But My Home Is Still Near Record Highs" — Isn't That Enough?
It is a fair question. Roche notes that single-family prices remain in the top three on record, and condo averages just set a record.
But buyers do not pay for "near-record." They pay based on the most recent sales of homes like yours. If you price a house from a 2025 sale, you are asking buyers to overlook the lower 2026 prices in Roche's data. That is where price reductions and tougher negotiations begin.
Belmont is not a buyer's market across the board. Move-in-ready ("turnkey") Belmont homes can require offers at 105% of the asking price, meaning about $5 over asking for every $100. Updated homes can go under contract in 7–10 days, often listed on a Thursday with an offer accepted by Monday evening.
How Fast Buyers Need to Move in Belmont
A practical buyer snapshot showing offer strength and speed for desirable modernized or new-construction homes.
Offer strength
Win number (typical offer to win turnkey homes)105%
Pace
Typical days on market — modernized/new construction homes7–10 days
Typical listing day-to-offer pattern (example)list on Thursday, offer accepted by Monday evening
The penalty hits homes priced as if 2025 never ended. For condo sellers, the opposite warning applies: don't discount just because a blended town-wide figure is lower.
Are the Numbers Skewed by What Sold?
Partly. Belmont has low sales volume, so averages can jump when a few high- or low-priced homes close. Analysts call this "mix-driven," meaning caused by which homes happened to sell.
Medians are less affected. Roche's single-family median sits 7% below year-end 2025, which suggests the cooling is real and not just a mix effect. For condos, her median is flat while the average rose. That points to mix.
The careful read: condos are holding value, and single-family homes have cooled.
Does Comparing Part of 2026 With All of 2025 Exaggerate the Gap?
It might. Roche compares January through August 2026 with all 12 months of 2025. The seasons differ, and so can the mix of homes sold, which could make the gap look bigger or smaller than it is. Redfin, by contrast, compares the same three months year over year.
So the exact size of the single-family gap is uncertain. Treat the range and the median figure as estimates, not a precise discount.
The direction holds up, though. Roche's single-family median is lower, and a blended town-wide figure under last year's is what you would expect when houses cool faster than condos. Redfin's figure isn't wrong. It averages segments moving at different speeds.
Roche frames her figures as a starting point, not a valuation. Ask your agent for January–August sales from both years.
Do Belmont's Fundamentals Still Support Your Price?
These factors don't set your number; recent sales of your property type do. They help your listing win buyers at that number.
•Transit: Two Fitchburg Line stops reach North Station in roughly 15 to 20 minutes, per homesearchwithzz. If you're near a stop, say so.
•Schools: Redfin lists GreatSchools 10/10 ratings for Mary Lee Burbank, Butler and Winn Brook. Highlight your school assignment.
•Walkability: The Joanne Domeniconi neighborhood guide reports a Walkability Score of 79, a strong point for condos near the town centers.
•Taxes: The fiscal 2026 tax rate is $11.51 per $1,000 of assessed value (the town's estimate of your home's value, used to set your tax bill), per homesearchwithzz. That estimate is not what a buyer will pay, so don't price from it.
So How Should You Price This Fall?
•Condo sellers: Price from recent 2026 condo sales, anchored to the steady median rather than the record average. If you're near the overlay, selling before new supply arrives may protect your leverage.
•Single-family sellers: Use 2026 closings only, and confirm the gap with same-period sales of homes like yours. Pricing correctly on day one keeps you in the group that still sells fast.
•Multi-family owners: Plan for a modest 3% adjustment, per Roche.
•Everyone: Watch "days to offer," the number of days from listing to accepted offer. Roche calls it the most accurate measure of buyer urgency.
If you're thinking of renting your condo instead, remember the Massachusetts law that took effect Aug. 1, 2025. NBC Boston reports that whoever hires the broker pays the fee. Build that into your math.
Belmont's real estate market is not one market right now. It is at least two.
Before you set a price, pull the 2026 sales for your exact property type, size, condition and neighborhood. That is the difference between chasing the market and leading it.
