October is when the Collin County market shows its fall shape. September is the first full month after summer, and it is the month we look at with sellers deciding between listing before the holidays and waiting for spring. This is our fall refresh: the same five county measures, one month on from our last look, and what they mean for a seller right now.
September, against the summer and against last year
Realtor.com's listing data for Collin County, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), as of September 2026:
| June 2026 | August 2026 | September 2026 | September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median listing price | $530,000 | $520,000 | $517,500 | $522,500 |
| Active listings | 5,301 | 5,180 | 4,951 | 4,978 |
| New listings that month | 2,196 | 1,540 | 1,420 | 1,518 |
| Median days on market | 50 | 60 | 65 | 63 |
| Listings with a price reduction | 2,806 | 2,568 | 2,294 | 2,296 |
Since August, every line moved the same way it moved between August and September last year (Realtor.com via FRED). The median listing had been on the market 65 days in September, up from 60 in August and 41 in April. Active listings fell back under 5,000 for the first time since May. New listings dropped again, to 1,420.
The year-ago column is the encouraging part. September 2026 looks a lot like September 2025: 4,951 active listings against 4,978, 2,294 price reductions against 2,296, and a median asking price $5,000 lower. This is a fall that looks like last fall.
Where sellers have leverage
Less competition, and it keeps thinning. New listings came in at 1,420 in September, down from 2,304 in April (Realtor.com via FRED, as of September 2026). Last year the drop ran through the end of the year, from 1,518 new listings in September 2025 to 830 in December 2025. Buyers still shopping in November and December have less to choose from, and a finished home gets noticed.
Fewer markdowns to compete against. Price reductions fell for the second month in a row, from 2,884 in July to 2,294 in September. A home priced right on day one is not sitting next to as many fresh discounts as it would have in midsummer.
A steady price line. The median listing price has stayed in a narrow band since spring: $529,450 in April, $530,000 in June, $517,500 in September (Realtor.com via FRED). That gives a seller a stable number to price against.
Where condition decides
Sixty-five days is the number to plan around. Last year the median kept climbing into winter, reaching 73 days in December 2025 (Realtor.com via FRED). Buyers have time to compare, and when several homes sit at a similar price, the one with the dated kitchen or the worn carpet is the one they pass on.
That is what happened at Biscayne in Frisco. The home sat on the market for 120 days and its price was cut to $550,000. The owners took it off the market, put $60,000 into quartz counters, a subway-tile backsplash, stainless appliances, plank flooring, fresh paint, and refreshed bathrooms, then relisted. It sold for $699,000, and the cherry cabinets stayed. Price had not been the problem.
What we would do in a Collin County home right now
If we walked your home this month with a listing in the next few months in mind, we would start with the rooms that carry the listing photos and the first minutes of a showing: kitchen, main living area, primary bath. In many of the homes we walk, that means new counters and backsplash before new cabinets, one flooring material through the living areas instead of three, and a primary bath with current counters, fixtures, and mirrors. We would skip what buyers at this price will not pay for: gutting a layout that works, appliances the neighborhood comps do not have, or a backyard project in November. A list like that is a home refresh or a pre-sale renovation, and pre-sale refreshes typically finish in three to six weeks. Haven Pl. in Allen, a rental, was renovated top to bottom in three weeks.
The next step
If you are weighing a listing this fall or early in 2027, the next two months decide which one you are ready for. Get the walkthrough, and within 48 hours of the walkthrough you will have a written estimate that says what to fix, what to skip, and how long it takes. The walkthrough and the estimate are free.
