Should I List My Home for Sale Now? Or Wait?
Mike Simonsen, the Chief Economist for Compass, covered this topic in his recent video:
Here's Jim’s take: If there are no active listings near you, then go on the market now – you will have a clean shot at the waiting buyers. The 2027 spring market is not as predictable as it would be normally. The election could throw some curveballs, and if the doubling of the tax exemption gets signed, then there could be a flood of listings near you. The increased competition could cause the potential tax savings of $170,000 to go up in smoke without notice if you end up selling your home for 5% less than you thought. Plus the doubling might not happen at all.
Do I List Now or Wait Until Spring?
That is one of the biggest questions sellers are asking as the housing market moves deeper into fall.
Mortgage rates remain near their highs for the year, inflation concerns are still elevated, and the third quarter has been softer than the second quarter. After improved sales conditions earlier in 2026, buyers and sellers are now facing more uncertainty.
This week’s data shows sellers are already pulling back.
You can already see this “Should I wait?” question showing up in the data. Here’s what this week looked like:
New listings: ~71,000 per week, down 10% from a year ago. This was the slowest pace for this time of year since 2023. Some of that is the Labor Day holiday, but the drop was steeper than usual, and it hit Texas, Florida, and California alike. Expect a partial rebound next week.
Inventory: just over 1.1 million homes on the market, down 1.2% for the week, and about 2% higher than a year ago.
Home prices: median price of newly pending contracts is $398,000, flat for the week and essentially flat year-over-year. The usual small seasonal bump in October may not show up this year, given the latest interest rate moves.
Pending sales: averaging about 75,000 per week, down 3.5% year-over-year, back to 2024 levels.
Price reductions: 42% of listings have taken a cut from the original list price, higher than any recent September. The average size of price cut is 4.1% of list price, or about $18,000 on the median home.
The takeaway: sellers should not assume spring will automatically bring better conditions. In some tight-supply markets, listing now may still offer an advantage. In softer markets, waiting may not solve the pricing challenge. The smartest strategy is to understand your local market, price realistically, and avoid being forced into a larger reduction later.
