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September 2026 housing market report for Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties. Active listings climbed in every county compared to a year ago, mortgage rates ended the month above 7%, and homes that sold still closed between 94% and 99% of list price. Here is what the Flexmls numbers show, how July and August set the direction, and what is happening nationally.
The plain answer
Treat the September sales counts as provisional. As of October 1, 67 residential closings were recorded across Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties, against 116 in September 2025 and 102 in August. Closings are still being reported, so that number will rise marginally over the next day or two.
The figures less affected by that lag tell a clearer story. Active listings across the four counties were 417 at the end of September, up 14.2% from 365 a year ago and up from 381 in July. Homes that sold closed at 94.4% to 99.2% of list price depending on the county. Prices were mixed: the September median was below last September in Boyle and Lincoln, and above it in Garrard and Mercer.
Median sold price, September 2026
| September 2026 | August 2026 | Change from August | September 2025 | Change from a year ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyle | $252,950 | $262,950 | -3.8% | $294,000 | -14.0% |
| Garrard | $379,450 | $375,000 | +1.2% | $200,000 | +89.7% |
| Lincoln | $201,500 | $236,000 | -14.6% | $215,000 | -6.3% |
| Mercer | $265,000 | $270,400 | -2.0% | $230,000 | +15.2% |
| All connected MLS data | $280,000 | $285,000 | -1.8% | $275,000 | +1.8% |
A median is the middle sale: half of homes sold for more, half for less. With only 12 to 24 September closings recorded in each county, one or two sales can move it a long way. Read these as a snapshot, not a trend line.
County by county
Boyle County. The September median was $252,950, down from $262,950 in August and $294,000 a year ago. Active listings reached 131, up from 121 in July and 17.0% above September 2025. Average days on market was 75.5, up from 34.4 in July and 62.9 in August, so homes are taking longer to sell. Homes that did sell closed at 98.3% of list price, up from 96.2% in July. 18 closings were recorded so far, against 39 last September.
Garrard County. The median was $379,450, in line with August’s $375,000 but far above both July’s $250,000 and September 2025’s $200,000. With 12 closings in September and 15 in August, that reflects which homes sold more than a market-wide move. Active listings were 91, up 18.2% from a year ago. Average days on market came down to 48.3 from 76.8 in August, and the sale-to-list ratio improved to 96.9% from 94.9%.
Lincoln County. The median was $201,500, the lowest of the four counties and down from $236,000 in August and $243,000 in July. Lincoln had the most closings recorded of the four in September, 24, and the largest jump in inventory: 87 active listings, up 22.5% from a year ago. Homes sold at 94.4% of list price and 90.4% of original list price, the widest gap of the four counties.
Mercer County. The median was $265,000, down from $298,500 in July and 15.2% above September 2025. Only 13 closings had been recorded when we pulled the data, against 32 in each of July and August, so Mercer’s September figures are the most likely to change. What is already clear: active listings grew to 108 from 91 in July, and homes that sold closed at 99.2% of list price, the highest of the four.
How the counties compare to the wider MLS
Across all connected Imagine MLS data, 1,326 residential homes closed in September, down 4.3% from 1,386 a year ago and below August’s 1,508. Active listings were 5,638, up 6.7% year over year. The median was $280,000, up 1.8% from last September and down from $300,000 in July. The sale-to-list ratio was 96.8%, and average days on market was 48.4, up from 43.1 in July.
Active listings grew faster in our counties than in the wider MLS: up 17.0% in Boyle, 18.2% in Garrard and 22.5% in Lincoln, against 6.7% for the MLS as a whole. Mercer was the exception at 2.9%. Our four-county closing counts are down much more than the wider MLS’s 4.3%, which is partly the reporting lag and partly something we will not know until the final numbers are in. One caution: the wider MLS figures include our four counties and do not cover every Kentucky transaction.
What is happening nationally
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August to a 3.98 million annual rate, down 1.2% from a year earlier. The national median price was $429,100, up 1.6% year over year and the 38th straight month of annual gains. Inventory reached 1.62 million homes, or 4.9 months of supply, which NAR’s chief economist described as the highest in more than ten years. NAR’s September report comes out later this month.
Mortgage rates moved the wrong way for buyers. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the 30-year fixed rate at 6.71% on September 3 and 7.03% on September 24, the first reading above 7% since January 2025. A year earlier it was 6.30%. Freddie Mac’s number is a national survey average, not a quote.
The biggest factors on the market right now
Mortgage rates. Rates rose every week in September, from 6.71% to 7.03%, after sitting near 6.49% in early July. As simple arithmetic, principal and interest on a $250,000 loan is about $1,579 a month at 6.49% and about $1,668 at 7.03%, roughly $90 more. Your lender’s quote will differ.
Federal Reserve policy and inflation. On September 16 the Federal Reserve raised its target range a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00%, its first increase since 2023, and the median projection shows another hike by year end. August consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year earlier, with energy up 16.3% and shelter up 3.0%.
Rising inventory. More homes for sale, nationally and in three of our four counties, gives buyers more to compare and more room to negotiate. It is showing up in longer days on market in Boyle. We looked at what that means for buyers in Is Central Kentucky a Buyer’s Market Right Now?.
Seller pricing. Homes that sold closed near list price in every county, which suggests sellers who priced to the market are still getting close to their asking price. This is our read of the data, not a measured cause.
What this means for buyers and sellers
For buyers, the useful move is a current lender quote before you shop, because the payment you were quoted in July may not hold. More listings means more time to compare, and the gap between list and sale price differs by county, from about 94% in Lincoln to about 99% in Mercer. Our mortgage calculator shows how a rate change moves the payment, and if you are weighing a move to the area, Living in Danville, KY: What It’s Really Like (Fall 2026) covers the day-to-day.
For sellers, the question is price against today’s competition, not last month’s. In Boyle, average days on market more than doubled from July to September, so a home priced above what buyers see as value sits longer. A home priced right is still closing near list. Owners in Boyle County may also want our guide to the Kentucky homestead exemption, which explains one property tax deduction for eligible homeowners.
A note on the September numbers
September closings are still being reported, so counts, medians and days on market will shift, especially in the smaller counties where a handful of sales set the figure. We will carry any material changes into the October report.
Based on information from the IMAGINE MLS® for the period September 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026. Residential property, closed sales, pulled October 1, 2026. July and August 2026 figures are used for comparison. Not all Kentucky transactions are included. Mortgage rate, Federal Reserve, inflation and national sales figures are from Freddie Mac, the Federal Reserve, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Association of Realtors, as of the dates stated.
Your numbers, not just the county’s
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If you are thinking about buying or selling in Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln or Mercer County, we can walk through what this means for your price range and timeline.
