A home is often the largest single purchase you’ll make in your lifetime, and the decision-making process can be complicated. You may need to collaborate with a partner on your wishlist. Your job, school, and family can influence home location and amenities too.
Knowing when to update your new listing alerts and enter your official home search can feel daunting. However, knowing when to enter the market increases your likelihood of finding the perfect place at the perfect price.
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1. Spring Offers Fresh Opportunities
Bears aren’t the only ones ending their hibernation; sellers are, too. Spring offers a fresh start for many people, and it can inspire a change of scenery. After the holiday hubbub, sellers may be ready to freshen up their home and place it on the market.
Interest rates are often more favorable in the spring and real estate agents are motivated to make their quarterly numbers. Use these statistics to your advantage and start looking after the first of the year, monitoring your local listings.
Review listing details and identify if there are key features that differ from your current home’s setup. If your wishlist includes a pool, get a quote for homeowners insurance to see how that may impact your future budget. This can help ensure your home search aligns with your needs and wants.
Competition can be fierce, especially since spring blooms and chirping birds can make a home feel especially attractive. Yards are yet to require excess maintenance, so homes are showing-ready at a moment’s notice. Buyers often want to move outside of the school year, so they’re motivated to lock down a deal before summer.
You may notice higher prices and steeper competition, but with high inventory, you’ll have a lot of options. If you’re looking for a deal, you’ll want to wait until after spring to get serious.
2. Summer Motivation Reigns Supreme
The spring awakening may encourage early sellers to post their for sale signs after the last frost, while others wait. Primarily, homeowners with children in school put off listing their homes until the May mayhem is over. This means that summer inventory can skyrocket, and buyers should get their homebuying profile in order.
The timing can be tricky, as sellers with kids will sync their home switch with the small summer window. Make your offer attractive by getting pre-approval for your loan and tying up any loose financial ends. Resist the urge to make large purchases or apply for new credit, which can affect your credit score.
Consider how assertive you can make your offer while protecting your financial well-being. You may be willing to make some concessions about closing costs, but you don’t want to waive an inspection. Generally, an inspection is required by your lender, but how those inspection items are resolved is flexible.
Examine your inspection report closely and get third-party quotes for any fixes. Slow down and request time to get these quotes but do so efficiently. It may be tempting to look online for examples, but if it requires professional installation, you can’t guess accurately.
If your potential dream home needs a new chimney cap, an off-the-shelf option may or may not work. If a custom cap is needed, a $300 piece of metal may devolve into a $4,000 custom job. Review structural and utility inspection items most closely, as these are often your biggest ticket items.
3. Fall Into a Buyer’s Market
Back-to-school sales aren’t exclusive to clothing and notebooks — home prices start to dip, too. Prices start to dip in Sept. and Oct. as the peak buying season winds down. Sellers whose homes have stuck around on the market since the spring start to slash prices.
Lengthy listings don’t necessarily mean that something is wrong with the home. In some cases, sellers’ emotional attachments to their homes over-inflate their prices, despite their listing agent’s advice. Even if a buyer were willing to overpay, the home’s assessment determines how much can be borrowed against it.
Leverage listing exhaustion to your advantage while still making a fair offer. An aggressive attempt at a discount can be polarizing and make the seller less flexible on concessions.
If you’re more flexible with your moving date or are waiting for the right home, you can have an advantage. Your flexibility can be a bonus for the seller, especially if you are one of many buyers. Include this detail in your initial offer if there’s competition or save it for negotiations.
4. Winter’s Coziness Encourages Settling Down
If you love a bargain, winter is your season. Sellers don’t want to move in the snow, but a motivated buyer will happily bundle up for a bargain. Between the holidays and cold weather, the motivation to move lessens, so there’s less market competition.
Don’t let low inventory discourage you; homes are always opening on the market. Job changes demand moves and can make it easier for a seller to agree to your terms. A divorce proceeding can place a time clock on a sale, making sellers supremely motivated to deal.
As the holidays approach, sellers may be eager to accelerate the transfer to ensure they’re closed before a holiday. The end of the year can also present deals, as sellers consider the tax implications of capital gains.
Home is Where, and When, You Make It
When housing supply is low, prices often rise, but your need for a place to call home remains. No matter when you’re motivated to move, know that each season has its benefits. Do your research, secure your finances, and make an offer that puts you in your dream home.