Buyer Education · September 5, 2026 · 7 min read
Last Sunday I held an open house on a gorgeous four-bedroom colonial in Bel Air. Updated kitchen, fenced yard, perfect for a young family. Prime location near the high school.
I had two groups show up in three hours.
Two.
In May? I would've had twenty families and probably multiple offers by Monday morning. But this is September, and most buyers think the season is over. They've mentally checked out until next spring, convinced they've "missed" 2026.
That's exactly why smart buyers are circling right now.
I spent twenty years in education before I got my Maryland realtor license, so I'm comfortable saying this: most people are doing seasonal real estate strategy completely backward. They're following the crowd when they should be zagging. September through November is when you stop competing with fifteen other offers and start actually negotiating.
Let me show you what I mean.
Everyone knows spring is when homes for sale in Harford County flood the market. Sellers clean out garages, plant flowers, and list right when families are thinking about summer moves and school transitions.
But here's what happens in September.
The sellers who listed in May and June without success are still on the market. They've had a long, hot summer of showings that didn't convert. They've made two price drops. They're tired. And they're almost always more motivated than they were in week one.
Meanwhile, new inventory still comes on. Life doesn't stop because it's fall. Job relocations happen in September. Divorces finalize. Estate sales move forward. I've listed four properties in the past two weeks across Harford and Cecil Counties, and every single one of those sellers has a deadline that doesn't care about the season.
But the buyer pool shrinks dramatically. Families with school-age kids have settled in for the year. Summer vacationers are back to work routines. The casual browsers stay home.
That mismatch is your opportunity.
According to data from Realtor.com's housing market trends, inventory typically peaks in late summer, but buyer demand drops faster than supply through fall. Translation: you're shopping when the store is still full but the other customers went home.
It's not just Harford County. I cover a big territory—Cecil, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, Charles, Prince George's, plus York and Lancaster in Pennsylvania, New Castle County in Delaware, and Washington D.C. The pattern holds almost everywhere.
Montgomery County still has competition because that market never fully sleeps. But even there, I'm seeing price reductions stick and inspection negotiations go smoother than they did in June.
Down in Anne Arundel, waterfront properties that sat all summer are suddenly fielding offers from buyers who finally have the seller's attention.
Over in Cecil County, land and horse properties—always a smaller buyer pool—are getting serious second looks now that the "I'll wait till spring" crowd has left.
Baltimore City rowhomes are a little different because the condo and investor market runs year-round, but even there, I've noticed sellers more willing to contribute to closing costs or leave appliances that they would've taken in May.
We talked earlier this week about new listings hitting a four-year high, which is fantastic news if you're a buyer. More choice, less frenzy.
I won't sugarcoat this part. Rates are sitting around 6.71% as of this week, and that's higher than buyers want. Freddie Mac's latest survey confirms what everyone already feels when they run the numbers.
But here's the thing: you can refinance a rate. You can't refinance a purchase price.
If you're waiting for rates to drop before you buy, you're going to be competing with everyone else who had the same idea. When rates do eventually come down—and they will, that's how cycles work—the buyer pool doubles overnight. Suddenly that house you could've negotiated $15,000 off in September is going for $20,000 over ask in a bidding war.
I'd rather lock in a price I can live with now, refinance in two years when rates improve, and avoid the feeding frenzy. That's not just realtor talk. That's math.
And if rates make you nervous, this might help: the FHFA is exploring new credit report rules that could make it easier for some buyers to qualify. Small changes in underwriting can mean big differences in who gets approved.
Let's flip this for a second.
If you're thinking about selling your house in Harford County or anywhere else I work, September is not when you throw in the towel. It's when you get serious.
Yes, you'll have fewer showings than you would in April. But the showings you do get? Those are pre-qualified buyers who've done their homework and are ready to move. They're not looky-loos killing a Saturday afternoon.
I tell my September sellers the same thing every year: price it right, stage it well (and please, for the love of all that is holy, don't make it look like a crime scene), and expect a slightly longer marketing time but a smoother transaction.
The buyers you attract in fall are often more financially stable, less emotional, and easier to work with through the settlement process. I'll take that over a May bidding war with six contingent offers any day.
Here's where being a Maryland realtor who actually works in these counties matters.
Harford County's real estate rhythm is different from Montgomery County's. Cecil is not Anne Arundel. What works in Baltimore City doesn't always translate to York County, PA.
In Harford, a lot of buyers work at Aberdeen Proving Ground or commute to Baltimore. That means they're juggling federal employment schedules, military PCS timelines, or hybrid work arrangements. September buying makes sense because it's after summer PCS moves but before the holiday freeze.
In Montgomery and Howard Counties, where you've got a ton of NIH, NSA, and federal contractor families, September buying aligns with new fiscal-year job starts and the end of summer telework experiments.
Down in Charles County—where schools and commute times are the eternal trade-off—September is when families realize their current commute isn't sustainable and start looking closer to D.C. or farther out with better telework setups.
The Maryland REALTORS® association publishes regional data that backs this up: late summer and early fall traditionally see a dip in buyer activity but not a corresponding dip in serious, qualified buyers. The ratio flips in your favor.
Stop waiting for "the right time." This is the right time if you're ready to buy.
Get pre-approved if you haven't already. I mean actually pre-approved, not just pre-qualified. Talk to a lender who knows Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and D.C. requirements, because they're not identical.
Start looking at homes now, even if you think you want to wait till October. It takes most buyers 8-12 weeks to find the right house, write an offer, get through inspections, and close. If you start now, you're closing before Thanksgiving.
Be willing to negotiate on things that matter. September sellers will often cover closing costs, include appliances, or agree to repairs they would've laughed at in May. Use that leverage.
And if you're selling, don't pull your listing just because it's September. Adjust your expectations, tighten your pricing, and trust that the right buyer is out there—probably reading this article right now and realizing they don't have to wait till spring.
Honestly? September through November is my favorite time of year in this business.
The pace is saner. I can give every client more attention instead of running between six showings and four settlements in one afternoon. Open houses are quieter, which means I actually get to talk to the people who show up instead of just directing traffic.
The clients I work with in fall tend to be more thoughtful. They've had months to think about what they really want. They're not panicking because "everyone else is buying." They're making decisions that fit their actual lives.
And the deals we put together tend to stick. Fewer last-minute cold feet, fewer appraisal disasters, fewer bidding wars that leave everyone exhausted.
I've closed transactions in every season across Maryland, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Spring is exciting. Summer is busy. Winter is slow. But fall? Fall is when smart buyers win.
If you're ready to stop waiting and start looking, let's talk. I promise you won't be competing with the crowd. You'll just be ahead of it.
Katrina Kirton Sherrod, REALTOR® · Samson Properties · Licensed in MD, DC, PA & DE · 443-616-9770 · Katrina@kkstherealtor.com
“Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home if they are interested. Get out of the car, walk in the door — sold.” — Barbara Corcoran