"Hot take: Peak homebuying season is overrated. Sure, summer makes sense if you have kids in school. But wait until fall, and your patience often pays off. With less competition, buyers have more negotiating power. This year, fall buyers have another advantage: Growing inventory. Housing supply hasn't been this plentiful since May 2020. If you didn't luck out during your summer house hunt, be grateful. This fall just might be the best window for home buyers in the past five years. Here's why."
"Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, calls it a "buyer-friendly balanced market" - not quite a buyer's market, but a noticeable power shift. "What we're seeing a lot of is sellers with some unrealistic expectations who list their homes maybe at prices they would have gotten in 2022, but it's not 2022 anymore," he says. "So they kind of have to do price reductions and negotiate with buyers more than they have in the past.""
"An experienced buyer's agent can help you understand how buyers in your market can flex this exciting new leverage. For example, you might be able to negotiate a lower purchase price, get the seller to pay for repairs or score some flexibility on a closing date. Depending on your area, asking for all three still might be a stretch. Buyers have sway - not a magic wand."
Summer remains useful for families with school-aged children, but fall increasingly favors buyers as competition subsides and inventory grows. Housing supply is more plentiful than at any point since May 2020, easing bidding pressures that dominated 2021–2022. Elevated mortgage rates prompted many homeowners to stay put previously, constraining listings and fueling bidding wars. Sellers are now confronting market realities with price reductions and more negotiations. Skilled buyer agents can leverage calmer markets to pursue lower prices, request seller-paid repairs, or secure flexible closings, though outcomes depend on local conditions and remain negotiable rather than guaranteed.
Read at SFGATE
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