Fewer sellers listing, steadier prices. What the September numbers say about the coast.

Last month the story was softer prices. This month it’s quieter sellers. Here are the numbers, and what I think they mean.

What moved

Per realtor.com’s county research data through September, 546 new listings came on the market in Baldwin County. That is about 24 percent fewer than last September. Active listings came in at 2,838, roughly 9 percent below a year ago.

Prices held. The median asking price was $499,000, essentially flat from last year. The number I flagged in July was price per square foot, which was running about 6 percent under the year before. By September that gap had narrowed to about 1 percent, at $324 a foot.

Median time on market was 87 days. That’s about five days quicker than last September.

Across the line in Escambia County, Florida, the same data put the median at $336,725, with a median 72 days on market.

If you’re buying

The houses that are listed aren’t getting cheaper the way they were this summer, and fewer new ones are coming behind them. If you’ve been waiting for prices to keep sliding, September didn’t cooperate.

That doesn’t mean you lose your leverage. About 17.6 percent of Baldwin listings had a price cut in September, so an offer under ask is still a normal conversation. And 87 days is still a slow market. You have time to order the wind and flood quotes and read the condo documents before you commit. Use it.

If you’re selling

Fewer new listings means less fresh competition this fall, which helps. But don’t read a flat median as a rising one. Buyers have plenty of homes that have been sitting a while to compare you against, and they know which ones have been cut.

If you’re thinking about listing before the snowbirds arrive, the sellers who stayed off the market this month left you a little more room. Price it to what’s closing now and show up ready, and you’ll stand out in a thinner field.

Same caution as every month: these are countywide numbers, and a Fort Morgan condo, a Fairhope cottage, and a new build off the Foley Beach Express don’t move together. The county tells you the weather, not your forecast.

If you want to see what these numbers look like for your street or your building, call or text me at (251) 597-5809. No pressure, just honest numbers.