Best Time to Buy by City

Best Time of Year to Buy a House in Sacramento

Updated November 2, 2026

By Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Reviewed by:

Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Kevin Kretzmer

Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822

The best time to buy a house in Sacramento is October. Buyers who went under contract in October paid a median 2.6% below the original asking price, and 67% of homes sold below asking, compared with the full original asking price in March, the most expensive month. That gap is 2.6 percentage points, or about $11,484 on the $440,000 median home in Sacramento. The trade-off is choice: March brings about 43 new listings a month, February only about 26. Here is the month-by-month data from 453 closings in Sacramento in our MLS feed.

TurboHome Market Analysis · Sacramento, CA · Contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 · Published November 2026

Key findings

Best month: October. Sacramento homes that went under contract in October sold for a median 2.6% below original asking, and 67% sold below the original asking price.
Most expensive month: March, at a median at original asking, with 43% of homes selling below asking.
Best vs firmest season: Fall (1.0% below original asking) versus spring (0.7% below original asking).
New listings: March brings about 43 new listings a month; February only about 26.
Price cuts: 41.7% of homes that went under contract in October had taken a price cut first, versus 21.3% in March.
Days on market: the typical winter listing sat 25 days, versus 14 in spring.

Sacramento home prices by month: what buyers actually paid

"Contract month" is the month the buyer's offer was accepted, not the month the sale closed. That is the date a buyer can actually time. The chart shows how the median sale in Sacramento compared with the original asking price in each contract month, and the table below it has every figure.

Below original asking

Median close vs original asking, by month. Every figure is in the table below.

Sacramento home prices by month: what buyers actually paid, data table
Contract month	Closings	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median $/sq ft	Median days on market	Median sale price	Avg new listings per month
January	44	0.4% below original asking	50.0%	36.4%	$313	24	$432,500	35
February	37	2.4% below original asking	64.9%	43.2%	$318	30	$472,000	26
March	47	at original asking	42.6%	21.3%	$312	12	$459,000	43
April	35	1.1% below original asking	54.3%	22.9%	$306	13	$443,000	33
May	39	1.1% below original asking	56.4%	35.9%	$307	16	$440,000	40
June	39	at original asking	41.0%	35.9%	$319	25	$453,900	42
July	32	0.5% below original asking	53.1%	28.1%	$336	20	$405,500	40
August	43	2.5% below original asking	58.1%	41.9%	$304	22	$410,000	42
September	22	0.6% below original asking	50.0%	27.3%	$300	17	$441,825	33
October	24	2.6% below original asking	66.7%	41.7%	$282	28	$485,000	41
November	47	at original asking	40.4%	23.4%	$292	16	$442,000	38
December	44	at original asking	47.7%	40.9%	$320	22	$442,500	29

New listings swing just as hard. March averages about 43 new listings in Sacramento, while February averages about 26.

Avg new listings per month

Average new listings per calendar month over two years. Hover a point for its value; every figure is in the table above.

Best season to buy a house in Sacramento

Best season to buy a house in Sacramento, data table
Season	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median days on market	Avg new listings per month
Winter	0.9% below original asking	54.2%	40.2%	25	30
Spring	0.7% below original asking	51.1%	26.7%	14	39
Summer	1.0% below original asking	50.7%	35.3%	22	41
Fall	1.0% below original asking	52.4%	30.8%	20	37

Fall was the best season to buy in Sacramento: the median home closed 1.0% below original asking, and 52.4% of homes sold below asking. Spring was the firmest, at 0.7% below original asking with 51.1% below asking. Listings sat a median 20 days in fall versus 14 in spring.

Winter is December to February, spring March to May, summer June to August and fall September to November.

Why the season matters in Sacramento

Our Sacramento feed is small (453 closings over two years), so treat these figures as directional and lean on the seasonal shape rather than any single month. Even so, the pattern is clear: October and February contracts closed 2.4% to 2.6% below the original asking price, while March, June and November deals went for full price. Winter listings in Sacramento sit nearly twice as long as spring listings (25 days versus 14), which is where the negotiating leverage comes from in Land Park, East Sacramento and Tahoe Park.

Is winter a good time to buy a house in Sacramento?

Partly. Sacramento winter contracts (December to February) closed a median 0.9% below original asking, softer than spring (0.7% below original asking) but not as soft as fall (1.0% below original asking). December closed a median at original asking, with 47.7% of homes selling below asking.

The trade-off is thin inventory. Winter brings about 30 new listings a month versus 39 in spring, and December only about 29. The typical winter listing in Sacramento sits 25 days versus 14 in spring, so winter sellers have usually had time to rethink their price.

Does the season matter more than mortgage rates?

In Sacramento, the spread between the best and worst month to sign a contract was 2.6 percentage points on price, about $11,484 on the $440,000 median home. A 0.5 point move in the 30-year mortgage rate changes the monthly payment on a $440,000 home with 20% down by roughly the same order of magnitude. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026.

Watch both. You can't control where rates go, but you can control when you shop and how hard you negotiate, and a flat-fee buyer's agent works the price side in any month.

How to time a purchase in Sacramento

Get pre-approved before the slow season. In Sacramento that is fall, and a pre-approval lets you move the day a stale listing gets interesting.
Target homes past the median of 20 days on market in Sacramento. Sellers who have waited longer than the typical listing are the most open to an offer below asking.
In bidding-season months, shop the soft segments. In spring and March, look for property types and price bands that still sell below asking.
In the slow months, ask for credits and repairs, not only price. In October, 41.7% of homes that sold had already taken a price cut, so sellers know where the market is.
Keep searching through the holidays. February brings the fewest new listings, about 26, and sellers in Sacramento who list then are usually motivated.

Methodology

We looked at closings of single family homes, condos and townhouses in Sacramento from our MLS feed, with contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 and closed by October 31, 2026, and removed outlier ratios. "Median close vs original asking" is the median of close price divided by the original list price, so it includes price cuts made before the sale. Across all 453 closings, that ratio was 0.9920 (0.8% below original asking), 51.2% of homes sold below original asking, 33.1% had a price cut before selling, and the median home sold for $440,000 at $309 per square foot after 20 days on market.

New listings are the two-year average per calendar month. Figures are medians unless stated. Published November 2026. Our Sacramento feed is a small sample, 453 closings over two years, so treat these figures as directional and lean on the seasonal pattern rather than any single month. The sample is too thin to break out by neighborhood, so this page has no neighborhood table.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest month to buy a house in Sacramento?

October. Sacramento homes that went under contract in October sold for a median 2.6% below original asking, and 67% sold below the original asking price. The median listing had been on the market 28 days.

What is the worst month to buy a house in Sacramento?

March is the most expensive month. Sacramento homes that went under contract in March sold for a median at original asking, only 43% sold below asking, and the median listing sat 12 days.

Is winter a good time to buy in Sacramento?

Partly. Winter contracts closed a median 0.9% below original asking, 54.2% of homes sold below asking and the typical listing sat 25 days. The catch is choice: about 30 new listings a month, versus 39 in spring.

How much can I save by timing my purchase in Sacramento?

The gap between the best and most expensive month was 2.6 percentage points, about $11,484 on the $440,000 median home in Sacramento. That is a median across 453 closings, not a guarantee: the home, the neighborhood and your offer still matter more than the calendar.

When do the most homes come on the market in Sacramento?

March brings the most new listings, about 43 a month. February brings the fewest, about 26.

Buy in Sacramento with a flat-fee buyer's agent

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