September is typically the best time of year to buy a home because there are usually more homes for sale, less competition from other buyers, and lower home prices — but that is not the case this year, according to realtor.com®‘s September Monthly Housing Trends Report. Instead, a pandemic-fueled buying spree has led to an unusually competitive fall homebuying season where typical buyers are paying roughly $20,000 more for a home and face 25% more competition than at the start of the year.
“Many buyers tend to put their home search on hold after the start of the school year, but remote learning and the desire for more space continued to fuel buyer interest in September,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist, realtor.com®. “Unseasonably high buyer interest coupled with historically low inventory and favorable mortgage rates are creating a perfect storm in the housing market. While this is good news for anyone looking to sell their home, it has created tremendous competition among buyers.”
September is not the best time to buy in 2020
Last year the best time to buy a home was the week of Sept. 22-28 and if 2020 was following the same pattern, it would have been Sept. 20-26. During this week, the housing market has typically cooled down, but this year:
Homes sold faster in September than August for the first time since 2016
Buyers face high home prices everywhere
Buyers have limited number of homes to choose from
Metros With the Largest Increases in Home Prices
Metro |
Median Listing Price YoY |
Median Listing Price |
Median Days on Market Y-Y |
Median Days on Market |
New Listing Count YoY |
Active Listing Count YoY |
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind. |
16.9% |
$318,000 |
-11 |
39 |
-23.1% |
-46.6% |
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. |
16.4% |
$677,000 |
-18 |
34 |
-3.3% |
-33.4% |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. |
15.6% |
$344,000 |
-20 |
43 |
-0.5% |
-42.6% |
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. |
15.2% |
$286,000 |
-10 |
46 |
-16.8% |
-58.5% |
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y. |
15.0% |
$230,000 |
0 |
43 |
-12.5% |
-43.3% |
Austin-Round Rock, Texas |
14.8% |
$408,000 |
-15 |
45 |
-13.8% |
-47.9% |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. |
14.0% |
$468,000 |
-15 |
41 |
-10.1% |
-55.6% |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. |
13.5% |
$625,000 |
-13 |
58 |
-1.1% |
-10.3% |
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. |
13.2% |
$340,000 |
-5 |
49 |
-25.2% |
-50.3% |
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich |
12.8% |
$273,000 |
-8 |
38 |
-27.0% |
-45.9% |
New Orleans-Metairie, La. |
12.3% |
$325,000 |
-10 |
64 |
-27.8% |
-38.5% |
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. |
11.3% |
$262,000 |
-12 |
47 |
-19.5% |
-52.0% |
Richmond, Va. |
10.9% |
$355,000 |
-8 |
48 |
-18.2% |
-46.0% |
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. |
10.9% |
$250,000 |
-8 |
58 |
-15.5% |
-39.1% |
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. |
10.8% |
$1,037,000 |
3 |
35 |
-0.2% |
-12.1% |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. |
10.3% |
$355,000 |
-11 |
45 |
-25.7% |
-45.5% |
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, Calif. |
10.1% |
$544,000 |
-10 |
35 |
-3.4% |
-51.2% |
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. |
10.0% |
$330,000 |
-22 |
39 |
-4.8% |
-45.5% |
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. |
9.3% |
$412,000 |
-14 |
41 |
-16.5% |
-53.2% |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va. |
9.1% |
$519,000 |
-16 |
28 |
-3.7% |
-40.4% |
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio |
9.1% |
$216,000 |
-10 |
49 |
-14.0% |
-50.6% |
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. |
8.8% |
$326,000 |
-4 |
41 |
-11.5% |
-42.5% |
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. |
8.3% |
$349,000 |
-7 |
42 |
-14.3% |
-34.4% |
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C. |
8.3% |
$368,000 |
-14 |
42 |
-17.1% |
-47.9% |
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. |
7.8% |
$345,000 |
-10 |
39 |
11.1% |
-7.8% |
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. |
7.5% |
$300,000 |
-22 |
43 |
1.1% |
-31.8% |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
7.4% |
$269,000 |
-2 |
50 |
-12.3% |
-39.2% |
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. |
7.4% |
$505,000 |
-6 |
44 |
-21.1% |
-44.8% |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. |
7.2% |
$300,000 |
-10 |
50 |
-15.5% |
-43.5% |
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn. |
7.2% |
$400,000 |
-5 |
32 |
-29.8% |
-40.5% |
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. |
7.1% |
$776,000 |
-7 |
35 |
-5.7% |
-42.9% |
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas |
7.0% |
$332,000 |
-7 |
52 |
-6.5% |
-32.6% |
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. |
6.9% |
$271,000 |
-12 |
52 |
-7.8% |
-38.1% |
Rochester, N.Y. |
6.7% |
$223,000 |
-14 |
29 |
-8.3% |
-40.9% |
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas |
6.6% |
$309,000 |
-15 |
52 |
-13.2% |
-44.5% |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. |
6.4% |
$414,000 |
-8 |
37 |
-3.7% |
-40.9% |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. |
5.5% |
$1,199,000 |
-7 |
35 |
18.8% |
-24.9% |
Raleigh, N.C. |
5.5% |
$391,000 |
-9 |
48 |
-22.8% |
-44.4% |
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. |
5.0% |
$522,000 |
-7 |
36 |
-16.3% |
-40.0% |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. |
4.8% |
$628,000 |
-8 |
35 |
15.9% |
-25.9% |
Columbus, Ohio |
4.7% |
$300,000 |
-13 |
31 |
-12.7% |
-47.2% |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas |
4.5% |
$360,000 |
-10 |
46 |
-18.9% |
-43.9% |
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. |
4.3% |
$355,000 |
-7 |
36 |
-6.1% |
-31.9% |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
4.1% |
$323,000 |
-12 |
59 |
-23.3% |
-43.0% |
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. |
3.2% |
$340,000 |
-20 |
35 |
-6.4% |
-51.5% |
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind. |
2.9% |
$268,000 |
-11 |
35 |
-26.7% |
-48.9% |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. |
2.5% |
$410,000 |
-6 |
93 |
-5.3% |
-14.0% |
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. |
1.5% |
$325,000 |
-8 |
58 |
-6.0% |
-19.1% |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
N/A* |
$250,000 |
-10 |
54 |
-13.8% |
-35.0% |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. |
N/A* |
$995,000 |
N/A* |
49 |
-11.4% |
-28.6% |
Media Contact
Nicole Murphy, nicole.murphy@move.com