The Best Week offers a balanced mix of market conditions that favor buyers relative to the rest of the year

• The 2025 homebuying season was relatively slow, which allowed for an important shift in the housing market. Inventory levels climbed beyond 1 million listings in late spring, getting closer to pre-pandemic levels through the summer.
• Nationally, the best time to buy a home is the week of Oct. 12–18, and the surrounding weeks are almost as favorable.
• Active listings continue to grow annually, approaching, though still falling short, of pre-pandemic levels nationally. Based on historical trends, the third week in October may see up to 32.6% more active listings than at the start of the year. Buyers are poised to save over $15,000 this week compared to the summer peak for a median-priced home of $439,450.
• Buying after the peak week may net a buyer more savings, but buying earlier is likely to mean more fresh options to choose from. Home shoppers should get familiar with the market and their priorities as soon as possible to capitalize on what is important to them.

This year’s housing market has continued to slow relative to the past few years, a welcome shift for buyers as the season quickly approaches the best time to buy. Time on the market has slowed to a pre-pandemic pace as buyers facing affordability challenges and relatively favorable rental conditions are hesitant to enter the market. These broader momentum shifts are on top of the seasonal trends, a slower market pace, more for-sale listings, and less competition, which all point to the best time to buy a home this year during the week of Oct. 12–18.

Despite the ongoing challenges buyers face as the housing market moves toward a healthier balance, this week stands out as the most favorable time to buy, offering the best combination of market conditions all year.

The year so far

In the first half of 2025, home prices and mortgage rates stayed pretty close to where they were in 2024. While this steadiness gave buyers a chance to plan without the panic of bidding wars, affordability remained a challenge, with prices and rates still sitting on the high side. By summer, the number of homes for sale had climbed to the highest levels since 2019, offering buyers more options. That said, inventory in July was still about 13% below pre-pandemic levels, so the market hasn’t fully bounced back at the national level. Regionally, however, the West and South are 9% and 4%, respectively, above pre-pandemic inventory levels.

Homeowner vacancy edged up slightly to 1.1% in the second quarter, higher than the record lows of late 2023, but still well below historical norms. Many homeowners are choosing to stay put, especially if they’re locked into ultralow rates, while buyers continue to scoop up what’s affordable and available. Even though inventory has improved compared to a few years ago, the market is still feeling the effects of years of underbuilding as the supply gap of roughly 4 million homes is keeping vacancy low and prices elevated.

So far this year, the economy has sent mixed signals. New rounds of tariffs have added to inflation pressures and stirred uncertainty about where mortgage rates are headed. While overall inflation has eased, concerns about interest rates, global trade tensions, and a slowing job market have made some buyers and sellers more hesitant. These factors have led to slower existing-home sales and new-home sales in many areas. New-construction activity has also eased as builders consider the impacts of tariffs and low buyer demand.

Are we in a buyer’s market?

While the market has not quite tipped into buyer’s market territory, it is balanced for the first time in years at the national level. Home inventory levels in the U.S. have reached their highest point since before the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a significant shift in housing market dynamics. For several years, extremely tight supply, combined with intense buyer competition, pushed prices to record highs and left many would-be homeowners with few options. Now, a slowdown in home sales, driven by elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges, has allowed listings to accumulate. This increase is giving buyers something they haven’t had in years: breathing room. More choices mean less pressure to rush into a decision or waive contingencies, and greater opportunity to find a home that fits both lifestyle and budget.

It is important to note, however, that the picture varies regionally. The South and the West are far more buyer-friendly than the Midwest and the Northeast, which are both more seller-favoring than the national market. A handful of metros, including the pandemic-era boomtown of Austin, TX, tipped buyer-friendly this summer as ample inventory and soft demand put home shoppers in the driver’s seat for the first time in a while.

For sellers, the rising inventory environment demands a different strategy. With buyers no longer forced into bidding wars, pricing competitively and offering incentives have become more common. While sellers may not command the same sky-high premiums as during the pandemic boom, they can still find motivated buyers, especially if they present their property well and align expectations with the realities of a more balanced market. In short, the shift toward higher inventory levels signals a gradual rebalancing in the housing market, one that could create a healthier pace of transactions and more negotiating flexibility on both sides.

Why mid-October?

Nationally, the week of Oct. 12–18, 2025, is projected to be the best time to buy a home. Historically, this week offers the most favorable balance of market conditions for buyers. Inventory tends to be elevated, prices typically dip below their seasonal peak, buyer competition slows, and the overall pace of the market becomes more manageable.

This seasonal shift is largely influenced 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. These buyers are often motivated by access to top-rated schools and the desire to settle before the new academic year. Warmer weather, longer daylight hours, and curb appeal enhancements from lush summer foliage also make this an ideal time for showings and inspections, adding further momentum to the summer surge.

As the calendar shifts into fall, however, demand naturally tapers off. Families with school-aged children often exit the market, and the remaining inventory begins to linger. Prices respond by dipping below peak levels, and homes tend to stay on the market longer, creating conditions that benefit late-season buyers.

This year may bring a twist to the typical fall slowdown. After a slower-than-usual summer, buyer activity could rebound in the fall if mortgage rates decline or home prices soften more noticeably. However, even if demand ticks up, the abundance of for-sale inventory in many markets may help absorb the increase, maintaining favorable conditions for buyers well into the season.

Plentiful listings

Inventory levels tend to peak in early fall, around the best time to buy. The best week tends to feature the highest level of inventory in the year so far, very close to the usually subsequent crest. This year, inventory is at its highest levels since pre-pandemic, though listings will likely remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels. The typical seasonal trend expects this week to have 14.7% more active listings than the average week and 32.6% more listings compared to the start of the year. The uptick could be even more significant this year as seasonal inventory growth outpaces previous years.

 

 

Less competition from other buyers

Homebuyers shopping during the best week should expect less competition from other buyers. Properties tend to attract the most viewership per listing early in the spring when buyers trickle into the market before inventory picks up. The summer ushers in more homes and more home shoppers, which means buyers face considerable competition.

 

 

This year to date, buyer demand is lower than what was common during the pandemic, largely due to interest rates remaining higher for longer, sapping homebuying power. Historically, during the Best Week to Buy, demand is 30.6% lower than the peak and 14.8% lower than the average week. We expect mortgage rates to ease toward the end of the year, which could bring an unseasonal surge in buyer demand. Luckily, growing for-sale inventory will help soak up any rush of late-season buyers.

 

A more manageable market pace

Another challenging aspect of homebuying, especially in the past few years, is the pace of the market, or how long homes spend on the market. So far in 2025, the market has continued to slow, surpassing the pre-pandemic pace in July with a median time on the market of 58 days in July 2025, 1 day longer than the 2017–19 norm. This has helped buyers by allowing them to spend more time considering their options.

 

 

The best week should offer more time for buyers to deliberate, and could mean sellers are more eager to compromise. The best week historically slowed by 13 days compared to the peak pace earlier in the year. With a peak market pace of 50 days in May, based on seasonal trends and a cooling market, the Best Week is expected to slow by more than two weeks compared to the market peak.

Lower postpeak home prices

Home listing prices have been relatively steady since 2022, neither growing nor falling significantly in recent years.  At a national level, prices typically dip 3.4% compared to the typical season high during the Best Week. However, year to date, prices have climbed less significantly than both the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Buyers shopping during the best week could save roughly $15,000 compared to the year’s peak nationally.

 

 

More price reductions

The best week also represents one of the peak weeks for price reductions throughout the year, with an average of 5.5% of homes seeing price reductions that week, historically. In recent months, price reductions have climbed beyond historical norms, suggesting the best week could see even more homes with reduced prices in 2025.

 

 

This weekly price reduction rate would translate to a monthly price-reduced share of more than 22%. This peak is historically driven by a combination of buyers leaving the market, which brings down demand, in addition to a buildup of inventory throughout the year.

The potential for more fresh listings

In addition to active inventory on the market, the addition of fresh listings entering the market tends to give buyers more options even into the fall. The best week historically has added 15.7% more than the start of the year. Additionally, new-listing activity remains well below pre-pandemic levels, especially in today’s market, as sellers are more reluctant to list as inventory climbs and sits for longer. Nevertheless, the Best Week is expected to see more fresh listings than in any week through the remainder of the year, a trend that homebuyers with very specific criteria should keep in mind.

 

 

Finding the best time to buy

Price and availability (i.e., inventory) are key for buyers during their home search. Are there homes they want and can comfortably afford?

But there are a few other metrics that they may not be aware of that we at Realtor.com have insight into. This includes things like competition from other buyers, the pace of the market, and the number of price reductions in the area. These are all factors that play a part in locking down the right home at the right time.

To determine the best time to buy, we examine multiple housing market metrics. These include: 1) listing prices, 2) inventory levels, 3) new “fresh” listings, 4) time on the market, 5) homebuyer demand (Realtor.com listing views), and 6) price reductions.

We score each week of the year on a scale of 0–100 based on the number of active listings. A given week will score highly if it has more listings compared to other weeks of the year. We score the other metrics in the same way, so each week has six different scores for active listings, new listings, listing prices, days on the market, price reductions, and views per property. (In the case of prices, lower prices score higher; same with views per property.)

We then rank each week by the average of those scores. The week with the highest overall score is the best time to buy. This week represents a balanced view of market conditions favorable for buyers.

Plan for your priorities in a shifting market

When it comes to home supply, this year’s market is the most buyer-friendly in almost 10 years.  Still, high housing costs mean buyers remain cautious about locking in a payment that could stretch their budget. Seasonal trends in the fall often work in buyers’ favor, with more listings on the market and sellers more open to negotiation.

Mortgage rates aren’t seasonal, and they’re hard to predict, but expect them to ease over the next few months, potentially ending the year around 6.4%. Cooling inflation is key to further declines, and recent data is trending in the right direction. If lower rates, stable prices, and motivated sellers align, buyers this fall could see a sweet spot of opportunity.

Local market sweet spots

Many of the largest U.S. metros share the best week to buy with the nation, but others have their local best time just around the corner. Of the 50 largest U.S. metros, 13 boast a Best Week before the national week, 21 share the best week with the U.S. as a whole, and 16 markets have a later best week than the U.S. Overall, the Best Week to Buy in 45 of the 50 largest metros falls within a month of the national best week, emphasizing the favorable homebuyer conditions nationwide in September and October.

Metros’ best time to buy

The New York City and Philadelphia metros see a Best Time To Buy in early to mid-September, leading the national Best Week slightly. Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas also see conditions align for buyers slightly earlier than the national timeline, but Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, all align with the national timing. Florida markets tend to have later Best Weeks, as late as the first week in December in Miami and Tampa.

Among the 50 largest metros, markets where the best time to buy was within two weeks of the national week accounted for roughly 34% of the national inventory in July. Among the large markets where the best week aligned with the national week, the week of Oct. 12–18 has historically had an average of 20.9% more listings on the market over the typical week of the year. Competition with other buyers, as measured by views per property, has historically been down 37.3% versus the peak in these markets. The time on the market has been up two weeks over the year’s peak pace. On average, listing prices are 6.8% lower during this week compared to the peak prices in these areas at other times of the year.