If you're considering buying a home, you might want to get your finances in order now. According to a recent Realtor.com report, the week of October 12–18 will be this year’s sweet spot for home buyers due to a rare combination of higher inventory, lower prices, and less competition.
“After years of constrained conditions, the 2025 housing market is giving buyers something they haven’t had in a long time: options,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.
“I expect this market momentum shift to magnify typical seasonal trends that favor homebuyers in the fall. During the week of October 12–18, data suggest that buyers will find more homes for sale, less competition from other shoppers, and potential average savings of more than $15,000 compared to this summer’s peak prices. In a year that’s been the most buyer-friendly in nearly a decade, it’s the best window of opportunity for homebuyers all year.”
The potential savings that Hale cited is based on a median-priced home of $439,450.
In addition to the savings, buyers can expect up to 32.6 percent more active listings than at the start of the year, offering them a wider selection of homes to choose from. According to Realtor.com, inventory levels typically peak in the early fall, and this year, they’ve reached the highest point since before the pandemic.
Historically, competition among buyers is also 30.6 percent lower during this week in October as compared to peak season. This is because many families aim to move while their children are out of school and before the start of the academic year in the fall, so housing activity typically kicks off in the spring and peaks in the summer.
Plus, in October, homes typically spend two weeks longer on the market as compared to peak season, which means sellers may be more open to negotiation—about 5.5 percent of homes see reductions during this time—and buyers won't have to deal with the panic of bidding wars.
But the best time to buy may depend on where you're looking. Large metro areas like Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. follow the October 12–18 timing, while New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas experience buyer-friendly conditions a few weeks earlier, often in September. Florida markets, including Miami and Tampa, peak as late as December, according to Realtor.com.
“While the market has not yet tipped into a full ‘buyer’s market,’ conditions are more balanced than they have been in years,” Hale said. “This represents a significant shift after a period of historically tight supply and intense competition that left many home shoppers priced out.”
Read more at Martha Stewart
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