🏡 The Best Week to Buy Real Estate (And Why It Matters for Investors)
Every investor knows the question: does timing really matter? If the right property comes along, you grab it. But seasonality is not noise, it is one of the hidden forces that shape outcomes. The week you buy affects not just the price you pay, but how quickly you can lease, how much leverage you have in negotiations, and ultimately, how fast your returns start compounding.
Realtor.com recently highlighted October 12–18, 2025 as the “best week to buy” nationally. The reasoning is simple: by mid-October, active listings typically climb to their yearly peak, this year as much as 32.6% higher than January levels. Prices, meanwhile, ease off summer highs, translating to around $15,000 in savings on a median-priced home. And because demand cools, homes sit on the market longer, historically about two weeks more than in May, giving buyers breathing room to negotiate. In short, October represents a moment where buyers finally get to call the shots.
The national story is compelling. But the real question for us in Dallas is: does it hold true here?
So far, 2025 says yes. Inventory in DFW has surged, with some analyses placing active listings more than 50% above pre-pandemic levels. In fact, one mid-year report called it the highest supply in Dallas in nearly 20 years. Sellers are adjusting: two-thirds of local homes are now selling below list price, and days on market have stretched back to pre-pandemic norms, hovering around two months. Price cuts, once rare in Dallas, are showing up across the board. That does not mean fire sales everywhere, but it does mean buyers can negotiate again instead of fighting in bidding wars.
For investors, there is another angle that does not make the national headlines: the leasing window. Everyone knows the dominant rental wave is in the spring and early summer, when families time moves around school calendars. Section 8 households follow much the same rhythm. But in Dallas, there is also a quieter, second pulse of rental activity in November and early December. Many tenants, families and singles alike, prefer to move before the holidays so they can settle in by Thanksgiving or Christmas and start the new year fresh.
Here is where the alignment gets interesting. A purchase initiated in mid-October typically means a closing by mid-November. That positions you squarely in front of this holiday-move demand. Even if it is smaller than the summer surge, it still matters. Fewer investors plan around it, competition for available rentals thins, and your property stands out to renters looking for a turnkey home before the year ends. The benefit is not just a few thousand saved on purchase. It is reduced vacancy, faster lease-up, and an earlier start to cash flow.
This is why I see fall 2025 as a strategic moment. The national data gives you leverage with sellers. The local Dallas market amplifies that leverage, with inventory finally breaking free of its scarcity trap. And the leasing cycle adds a kicker: close in November, rent into the holiday wave, and ride into spring with a tenant already in place.
In other words, mid-October in Dallas is not just the “best week to buy.” I think it’s also a simplistic claim that depends on local inventory, property condition and Seller/Buyer emotions. It is, however, the rare time when buying and renting can line up in your favor. If you have been waiting on the sidelines, this may be the window where timing really does matter.