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, dur...