I believe this question is best answered by evaluating when buyers make an actual buying decision -- which is when they sign a contract.  The data above shows when buyers sign contracts -- calculated by averaging data from the three most recent years.

As can be seen, the busiest buying season is March through August when an average of 136 buyers per month make a buying decision. 

The remaining six months of the year (September through February) show anywhere between 46% and 79% as many buyers as the average of 136 per month seen in the busiest six months of the year.

So -- listing your home in October is not at all a bad idea based on this data!  As shown above, it's likely the highest month of buyer activity that we'll see between now and next March. 

Even late October can work, as we're likely to see 60% as many buyers signing contracts in November as compared to the average busy month. 

That said, in the following month (December) we're likely to only see about half as many buyers as compared to the average month.