Fall may be the best time for buyers to move

Source: Realtor.com

A slower fall season in home buying may help more lingering home buyers to jump in. Prices are easing somewhat. For the second month in a row, the median price of an existing home dropped. It reached $253,500 in August, after reaching a record high of $263,300 in June, according to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS®.

“Median sales prices typically decline a bit heading into the fall,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Summer is a big time for home purchases, so that families settle in before school starts in the fall. In the fall, the types of homes that sell are smaller for people without kids. So they tend to be less expensive.”

Existing homes are proving to be a bargain compared to newer homes. The median price of a new home reached $313,700 in July, which is 23.7 percent higher than an existing home.