As summer winds down and the colder season approaches, Realtor.com® released its annual Best Time to Buy report just in time for the upcoming fall and winter holidays.
For the 2025 edition of the report, Realtor.com marks the middle of October—from Oct. 12 to 18—as the best time of year for buyers to purchase a home. Last year’s report was earlier by a few weeks, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5.
The combination of certain elements like high inventory, low prices and less competition could aid homebuyers in their search. According to the report, homebuyers can potentially save $15,000 and see 32.6% more active listings, along with 30.6% fewer competing buyers.
“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. “I expect this market momentum shift to magnify typical seasonal trends that favor homebuyers in the fall.”
Other factors indicating mid-October as a homebuyer’s sweetspot include a manageable market pace, price reductions and new listings.
Broker Anthony Lamacchia, founder of Lamacchia Companies in Massachusetts, recently urged agents at RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange to emphasize these factors to their buyer prospects and clients, saying that not enough consumers understand the opportunity presented by the fall season.
In terms of the market, homes are taking longer to sell, according to the report. This past summer, listings stayed on the market five days longer than their pre-pandemic counterparts. What’s more, homes are typically on the market two weeks longer in October than peak season. Sellers are usually more open to negotiating because of this.
October is also the time of year when properties see the most price cuts, with estimates that from Oct. 12 to 18, about 5.5% of homes will have a reduction in price. The report states that 2025 could see even more discounted listings.
After an eventful summer, housing inventory has started to slow in growth. But October typically sees more fresh listings than the start of the year, usually about 15.7% more, according to the report. This could give buyers more opportunities to find homes that would match their goals. Realtor.com’s recent rent report highlights how renters are moving on from renting and buying homes in order to accommodate their growing families.
“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.”
The degree to which homebuyers will have an easier time varies by region. Realtor.com researchers measured the 50 largest metropolitan areas and found that 45 of them will experience their best time to buy within a month of their national estimate. In those 45 cities, homebuyers can expect to see 20.9% more listings, 37.3% less competition and home prices 6.8% below peak levels this past year.
Cities that are projected to have their best week before the national estimate are:
- New York, New York (Sept. 14 – 20)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Sept. 7 – 13)
- Chicago, Illinois (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4)
- Atlanta, Georgia (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4)
- Dallas, Texas (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4)
Out of these cities, Dallas is likely to have the most options for homebuyers with 20.8% more active listings than average. It is also projected to have the greatest decrease in median listing price out of the five, at a 6.9% drop compared to the city’s peak season.
Other large metros like Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Washington, D.C., will likely mirror the national estimate of mid-October. But markets in Florida like Miami and Tampa will reach their peak as late as December, the report states.
“During the week of Oct. 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,” Hale said. “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.”
For the full report, click here.
