Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

Ottawa County sales rose even as fewer homes came to market

By Michelle Teitsma

Real estate, Ottawa County

Here is the one fact that changes what you should know right now. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 278 homes sold across Ottawa County in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 12.1% from the same months of 2025. At the same time, Realtor.com reported mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Sales rose anyway. That tells you buyers are still moving, even when borrowing costs are high.

Now look at the supply side. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 302 new listings across Ottawa County in those same three months. That is down 14.9% from a year before. Fewer homes came to market, yet more sold. That gap between supply and demand is what keeps buyers competing for the homes that do appear.

Nationally, the picture is a little different. Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Active listings topped 1.16 million homes for sale nationally that same month. Ottawa County is not following that national pattern. Local inventory stayed tight while sales climbed.

How each ZIP code read in the three months ending August 31, 2026

Spring Lake (49456) was the busiest ZIP. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 117 homes sold there, up 9.3% from a year before. The median sale price reached $485,000, up 7.8%. Homes sat on the market a median of just 18 days, which was 8 days shorter than the same period in 2025. Nearly 3 in 10 homes (29.1%) sold above list price.

Grand Haven (49417) moved fastest. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at just 11 days, 1 day shorter than a year before. Sales rose 4.9% to 128 homes. The median sale price dipped a little, to $422,700, down 1.5%. Still, buyers paid an average of 99.6% of list price, and new listings fell a steep 19.1%.

West Olive (49460) had the sharpest swings. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 33 homes sold, up 73.7% from a year before. Homes for sale fell 48.1% to just 14. The median sale price was $600,000, down 6.8%, so prices gave a little ground even as volume surged. Months of supply dropped 3.1 months to just 1.3 months.

What rates are doing to buyers right now

CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.41% as of October 21, 2026. That is down slightly from 7.50%, but still well above where most buyers hoped rates would land. CNBC also reported that mortgage purchase applications fell 7% in one week and were 18% lower than a year before, nationally. Ottawa County buyers kept closing deals despite that pressure.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month, prices rose 0.3% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Spring Lake's 7.8% price gain over the same period ran well ahead of that national pace.

One more thing worth knowing. These numbers cover whole ZIP codes. One street, one neighborhood or one price range can read very differently from the ZIP as a whole. The data above is the starting point, not the whole answer for your home.