3 Key Signs You Should Buy a House During This Specific Week in 2024
Written by
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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If you’re in the market to buy a house, you might want to hurry things up. Indeed, a recent Realtor.com report showed that the best time to buy a property in 2024 is the week of Sept. 29 through Oct. 5, a period that could result in thousands of dollars saved for prospective homebuyers.
“Whether you should buy a home or not will depend on lots of personal factors, but if you know that you want to buy in the next six months or so, there are several reasons why starting to shop sooner rather than later could be a good idea,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist.
Of course, buyers have been facing several challenges lately, including high mortgage rates — which are, however, slowly declining — low inventory and high home prices. What’s more, selling activity has slowed as many owners feel “locked-in” by lower mortgages they secured a few years back.
“Roughly 86% of outstanding mortgages have a rate of 6% or lower, keeping the barrier to sell relatively high,” Realtor.com reported.
Yet, Realtor.com also found that there are some key signs you should buy a house during this specific timeframe as the conditions almost form a perfect storm for buyers.
1. Prices Tend to Dip
First, home prices tend to dip down from summer’s peak as the weather cools and many buyers bow out of the housing market for the season, Hale said.
“Based on typical seasonal trends and current pricing, we estimate that buyers could save roughly $14,000 by shopping during the best week as opposed to summer’s peak,” she added.
2. Inventory Tends To Pick Up
Second, for-sale home listings are still abundant, Hale said, noting that a typical best week is expected to have 37% more homes for sale than at the start of the year. In addition, with the inventory recovery underway, this year’s inventory surge is likely to be even higher.
“Newly listed homes for sale tend to dwindle as we approach the end of the year, but the best week has historically added 19% more newly listed homes than at the beginning of the year, so shoppers in the market will see some fresh options,” she said.
Inventory reached a five-year high in August, according to Realtor.com.
What’s more, the 30-year mortgage rate dropped to 6.2% on Sept. 12, the lowest level since February 2023, according to Freddie Mac.
3. There Is Less Competition
Another important factor contributing to this being the best week to buy a home is that shoppers can typically expect lower competition than in the peak of homebuying season — nearly 30% lower — as well as relative to a typical week of the calendar year — 14% lower — Hale said.
“With less competition from other shoppers, buyers will also generally have more time to consider their options,” she said.
Another perk: Less competition also often means that sellers may be more willing to negotiate, and the data indicates an uptick in price reductions, she added.
In fact, the Realtor.com report showed that there are an average of 5.6% of homes seeing price reductions that week, historically, which could translate into 50,000 homes having prices cut.
What Should Buyers Do?
Hale noted that this year could be somewhat atypical seasonally as long-awaited mortgage rate relief finally arrives.
“Even if this fall is busier than your typical autumn, the seasonal trends are still likely to occur, providing buyers more opportunity than at other times in the year,” she said.
In addition, by next spring, more shoppers will likely have heard about — and had time to prepare for — lower mortgage rates, so this fall’s shoppers can get ahead of the curve, Hale added.
“If Sept. 29 through Oct. 5 feels too soon, the next couple of weeks offer only slightly less favorable conditions,” she said.
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