Today is the first day of fall! As summer winds down, those in the home buying market have reached the best week to buy. According to Realtor.com the first week of fall — in 2019 that’s Sunday, Sept. 22 to Saturday, Sept. 28 — is the best time to buy a home in the U.S.
During this time shoppers will find less competition, more price reductions and more inventory to choose from. An average of 6% of homes on the market across the U.S. go through price reductions, resulting list prices an average of 4% cheaper than their peak and buyers across the U.S. face an average of 6% less competition than an average week.
Buyers don’t come out the day after Labor Day like many people or sellers think, there are many factors that influence or interrupt the flow of buyers in September, including hectic back-to-school commitments or extended summer vacation rentals.
With an average of 116,000 new listings added to national inventory in the first week of fall, the time period sees an average of 6.1% more listings overall than the average week, and an average of 76% more than the start of the year.
By region, the West sees the most favorable market factors during the first week of fall. List prices go down an average of 4% compared to their peak and an average of nearly 9% of list prices are reduced. Also, buyers face nearly 30% less competition on average during that time period compared to the average week, with an average of 22% more active listings available. Homes also stay on the market an average of nearly 38% longer than at their peak week, according to Realtor.com.