Realtor.com®: September 27th - October 3rd Marks the Best Time to Buy a Home in 2026
Realtor.com's 2026 Best Time to Buy Report identifies the week of September 27 through October 3 as the most favorable buying window of 2026, based on six seasonal supply-and-demand measures including inventory, prices, competition and time on market. During that week, buyers may find 31.9% more active listings than at the start of the year and listing prices about 3.5% below the seasonal peak — roughly $14,000 in savings on a median-priced home near $416,000 — while buyer competition runs 30.1% below its annual peak.
Key figures
- Median home price
- $416,000
- Savings vs summer peak
- $14,000
- Days on market best week
- 64
- Listings vs pre pandemic
- -11%
- Price reductions best week
- 5.7%
- Fresh listings vs year start
- 20.0%
- Active listings vs year start
- 31.9%
- Listing price vs seasonal peak
- -3.5%
- Active listings vs average week
- 13.3%
- Buyer competition vs annual peak
- -30.1%
- Metros matching national best week
- 14 of 50
- Metros within one month of national best week
- 42 of 50
AI analysis
Red flags2 · Pro
The rest of the AI analysis, red flags and sentiment are part of Signal8 Pro.
AI-generated analysis of a public disclosure. Not investment advice; verify against the original document.