If you've been holding off on buying a home, this fall could be the right time to make your move. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Over the past few years, prospective homebuyers had to contend with elevated mortgage interest rates, low for-sale inventory and steep home prices. These factors have kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines, but the housing landscape is starting to shift, at least somewhat.

Mortgage rates have declined overall for the last few weeks, for example, and recently hit a three-year low . Housing inventory is at its highest level since May 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors . The Federal Reserve also just conducted its first rate cut of 2025, lowering the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point as it tries to balance incre

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