Best Week To Buy Is Almost Here—and It Could Save Home Shoppers $14K

As children head back to school and the air turns crisp, the housing market is entering its sweetest spot: the peak homebuying week of 2026, offering savvy shoppers more options, bigger savings, and less competition.

The new Realtor.com® Best Time To Buy 2026 report identifies Sept. 27–Oct. 3 as the week boasting the optimal blend of market conditions favoring buyers at the national level. Recognizing that real estate is shaped by local conditions, the report also pinpoints the top buying timeframe for each of the nation's 50 largest metros.

Both buyers and sellers could use all the help they can get this fall. Early-year market momentum stalled in the spring due to rising mortgage rates propelled by the ongoing war in Iran.

"When our midyear forecast was released a few months ago, we expected mortgage rates to ease toward the end of the year, which likely would have brought more buyers into the market," says Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones. "As inflation and the Middle East conflict drag on, however, the odds of seeing mortgage rate relief and a rush of buyers hoping to capitalize on it this year are dwindling."

What does "best week" actually mean for buyers? Simply put, during this critical window, shoppers will enjoy nearly 32% more active listings to choose from than at the start of the year, and 13 more days to negotiate compared to the peak market pace of 51 days recorded in May.

"Buyers in the fall will be seeing homes that have been on the market a little longer, may have had a couple price reductions, may be more willing to negotiate," Susan Thayer, an agent with The Thayer Group in Denver, tells Realtor.com. "There are also plenty of sellers that put their homes on the market in the fall, so there will also be fresh, new listings." 

Perks for buyers

Even more significantly for budget-conscious buyers, purchasing during this week offers potential savings of roughly $14,000 or more compared to the summer peak for a median-priced home of $416,000.

That discount is particularly welcome against the current backdrop of elevated borrowing costs, which recently hit a 15-month high of 6.76%, coupled with overall uncertainty.

"When we didn't have the typical spring buying season, a lot of us assumed that the summer would be busy instead. But between the Iran war, tariff issues, and other challenges keeping buyers feeling uncertain, homes are sitting on the market longer, so there is more inventory to choose from," says Victor Currie, real estate agent at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Los Angeles.

"The positive is that even though mortgage rates are still high, that additional inventory means that buyers in a position to transact within the current conditions can probably find a home they actually want rather than a close approximation they would settle for in a busier market," adds Currie.

For deal hunters, the week highlighted by Realtor.com economists also delivers a surge in price reductions, with an average of 5.7% of listings offering discounts. 

"More than a few sellers who came in hot with an aspirational list price who have finally come to their senses," Michelle Schwinghammer, an agent at West + Main Homes in Denver, tells Realtor.com. "Those sellers could easily find themselves in a time crunch needing to sell this year, making them particularly willing to negotiate on price, terms, concessions, and timelines."

Another perk of jumping into the market in the last week of September is facing fewer rival buyers. According to Jones, viewership per property is roughly 30% lower than the summer peak and about 14% below the average week.

"In the fall, the market slows, giving buyers not only more time to consider homes, but also less competition for the home they find and want to offer on," adds Thayer.

How economists identify the 'best week'

Historically, the window offering the most balanced conditions for buyers typically occurs in the fall. According to Jones, that is largely due to the seasonal shift in market dynamics driven by school schedules and weather patterns.

"Housing activity typically kicks off in the spring and peaks in the summer, as many families aim to move while children are out of school," explains the economist. "These buyers are often motivated by access to top-rated schools and the desire to settle [in] before the new academic year."

The beginning of fall is accompanied by a slump in demand, as families with school-age children often exit the market, and the remaining inventory lingers unsold, resulting in softening prices and more flexible sellers.

This year, the national best week to buy arrives about two weeks earlier than in 2025 due to shifting inventory levels. However, as the report makes clear, conditions vary widely by market, placing the optimal buying window anywhere from early September to early December across the 50 largest metros.

To determine the most buyer-friendly timeframe for each market, Realtor.com experts analyzed six supply and demand metrics that follow seasonal patterns from 2018 until 2025 (excluding 2020, which marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic). The metrics include listing prices, inventory levels, fresh listings, time on the market, and views per property on Realtor.com.

The next step was to score each week of the year from 0 to 100 based on housing measures most favorable to buyers, such as competition in any given week, listing prices, market pace, likelihood of price reductions, and homebuyer demand.

Mortgage interest rates were not included in the score because they do not follow a seasonal pattern, but rather depend on economic conditions.

Each week was then ranked by the average of those scores. The week with the highest composite score was deemed the best time to buy, representing a balanced view of market conditions favorable for buyers.

Of the top 50 metros, five markets, including New York City and Milwaukee, hit their best time to buy before the national target.

Meanwhile, 14 metros—among them Los Angeles, Denver, and Philadelphia—share the ideal time to buy with the U.S., and 31 cities peak later in the season, offering some breathing room to aspiring buyers who don't have all their ducks in a row just yet.

At the extreme end, Sun Belt hubs like Miami and Tampa, FL, which have more retirees and are less tied to school calendars, don't hit their stride until December.

Insights from local real estate agents

This regional variation demonstrates how metro-level demographics and inventory shape each market, serving a reminder for buyers to adapt their strategy to their local area.

In Philadelphia, Andy Oei, real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors, says that early fall offers buyers a greater negotiating leverage.

"By September and early October, sellers who have been on the market through the summer have received meaningful market feedback," he says. "They have a much better sense of how buyers are responding to their price, and if the property remains available, they may be more receptive to negotiating."

He warns, however, that leverage does not apply to every deal.

"The best homes in Philadelphia, those that are well-positioned, in desirable locations, and offer attributes that are difficult to replicate, can still sell quickly or above asking," says Oei. "For my buyers, the fall opportunity isn’t necessarily about finding a lower price. It’s about having more leverage to buy the right property at the right value."

In Denver, Schwinghammer predicts that fourth-quarter sellers will be much more open to "contingent offers," hinging on a buyer’s existing home selling in advance, providing the necessary funds to get the deal across the line without relying on bridge loans.

In sunny L.A., Currie says that while the area lacks traditional fall weather changes, the October-to-December period is marked by heightened and more purposeful market activity.

"Buyers who are out looking tend to be more serious and focused, and sellers aren't as burned out from lots of showings in the busier seasons interrupting their lives, so the transactions may feel a bit smoother," says the agent. "It can also be very nice to get into contract in early fall so you can be in your new home in time for the holidays."

What should buyers do?

As aspiring buyers plan out their next move, experts advise them to think carefully about their priorities.

If price is the main concern, Jones says waiting until later in the season can pay off, given that listing prices tend to soften closer to the holidays. 

However, If buyers are seeking the widest and freshest selection of homes, jumping into the market early is their best bet.

For Currie, his advice to buyers remains consistent throughout the year. 

"Buy what you can afford within the current market conditions," he says. "Don't overspend, so you won't be hurt by unexpected changes in the economy or your personal circumstances."

Meanwhile, Schwinghammer, urges her clients not to squander their negotiating power by limiting their search to brand-new listings. 

“Instead, focus your attention on homes that have been on the market for two weeks or more," she says. "There’s nothing 'wrong' with them, I promise. There’s just plenty of sellers in that boat because there’s not enough buyers to absorb all the inventory that exists."

Thayer agrees, urging buyers to seek out homes that lingered through the summer and have had two to three price reductions. 

"These sellers are more likely to work with a buyer on pricing and other items than a seller who has just put their home on the market," she says.