Pros and Cons of Buying a Home in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Spring and summer months bring an influx of potential homebuyers. In warmer months, the trees are blooming. Birds are singing. You are not shivering and wearing forty-five different layers of socks. Home inventory increases with the warmer weather. Potential buyers come out of hibernation and into the market.
Compare that to the winter. Battling snowstorms and freezing rain? Not an ideal situation when you are running from home to home. Holiday parties and winter break trips also put a damper on home showings. Sellers hardly want their festivities interrupted with strangers tramping through their holiday decor.
So when is the best time to buy a home? You might be surprised.
Spring and Summer
In most real estate markets, the season to purchase homes is typically May to August, with the peak in June.
Homebuyers looking to buy in the summer will be able to enjoy from the process and explore the area, including neighbors and neighborhood, to a greater extent than those looking in the winter. Toward the end of summer, some homes will have been on the market for months. So you may be able to find some negotiation room with anxious sellers wanting to move their property.
Remember these points when considering purchasing a home in the spring or summer months:
- The influx of inventory in the market
- A greater number of homebuyers
- Opportunity to get a lay of the land
- Take advantage of late summer motivated sellers
Fall and Winter
Home sellers listing homes during the winter months are usually highly motivated. It is not easy to arrange showings and a potential move around the busy holidays. Additionally, sellers with families are less likely to pick up and move their children to a different location, and school district, in the middle of the school year.
During the winter months, you are also more likely to encounter less homebuyer competition and lower home prices. (This does usually come at the cost of less inventory to choose from.) You can use the weather to your advantage by visiting homes after storms to discern how the house stands up to harsh conditions. The rose-colored glasses of spring tend to hide things like leaks and insulation issues.
Here’s what you can expect when buying a home in the winter:
- Less inventory, but less competition
- Fewer multiple-offers
- Motivated sellers
- You can use the weather to your advantage
Mind the Market
Be in tune with the market you’re in. Speak with professionals as you begin looking to understand trends and patterns. Searching for a home in Chicago in January is one thing. Looking for a home at the same time in Phoenix or Los Angeles is quite another. Every market will vary and will come with its own set of factors. So be aware of that, and plan accordingly.
The best time to buy a home?
The truth about the best time to buy a home? The best time to buy a home is when you’re ready.
If you have done your due diligence concerning what you can afford and you have researched and prepared a list of critical factors, then you are well on your way. You will want to make sure you’ve considered important factors from career to student loans to mortgages, and that you have got a great trustworthy realtor on your side. When you’re ready, you’re ready, and you should move forward confidently.
Morty is reinventing how people get a mortgage. We’re on a mission to empower homebuyers and bring transparency and competition to an industry that’s been lacking both for too long. Ready to get started?
