Deciding to buy a home often comes with caveats - the location, availability, job requirements, and commute may come far ahead of scheduling a move to a new location. However, many people seek to buy homes at the beginning of the summer - when kids are finished with school and time permits a move and a settling period before classes resume.
Although not all home buyers have families and school aged children, this trend is big enough that it affects the whole country. You'll have a harder time finding real estate in Dallas, Texas, for example, in the early summer than you will in the late fall. You'll also pay more in the summer when homebuying is more competitive, and (although listings may not change) offers for less are more likely to be considered as the weather turns colder and the interest in moving dies down.
In fact, the dead of winter, (January or February) can be the absolute best time of year to buy a home
The majority of sellers will put their homes on the market starting in the spring and peaking in summer, but by Labor Day the number of homes will drop as competition for houses in the most desirable markets starts to wane. Inventory starts staying on the real estate market longer and longer, with homes in areas that typically see a turnaround of 2.5 months stretching out to 3.5 months or longer to be sold.
This provides an incentive for home sellers to unload properties and gives home buyers leverage to negotiate price and closings. Home sellers have an increased sense of urgency and buyers can remind them that they can always wait until summer when more houses are on the real estate market. Nine times out of ten, a lower offer will be accepted in the winter.
Homes are advertised at a listing price, but home buyers rarely actually pay those prices in most real estate markets even in summer - however, the gap between list and sale price is typically narrow in the warm months and widens considerably as weather cools off, thanks to home buyers’ greater negotiating power.
Moral of the story? Buy in the winter, sell in the summer - and don't forget to use The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory® to find a real estate agent!
Samson Properties
Warrenton, VA
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KW Metro Center
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Pearson Smith Realty, LLC
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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty
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Williamsburg Realty
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Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Lifestyle Property Partners
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Weichert, Realtors - McLean
Great Falls, VA
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Alexandria, VA
Mclean, VA
RE/MAX Executives
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Leesburg, VA
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