If you’re planning on investing a considerable amount of money in a house, especially your first one, you’re probably wondering, “When is the best time to buy a home?” There are two types of answers to this question: an emotional answer and a data-driven answer.
The emotional answer might simply be that the best time to buy a home is when you find a “dream” house that you can afford. The data-driven answer should be that the best time to buy a home is when the market conditions are to your advantage and the house you are considering buying meets a strict set of criteria that’s created with your long-term needs at its core.
However, keep in mind that your “dream” house can quickly turn into a nightmare, if you buy it based on emotion rather than a purely professional approach to conducting a real estate transaction. So, let’s take a look at some of the time-related issues a professional Realtor® will consider during the home-buying process.
The On-Season Versus the Off-Season
The first bit of data to consider is that you’re more likely to find the right home for your family when you have more houses from which to choose. You may think that early spring is the best time to buy, but in Zionsville the peak of the on-season for homes listed for sale, based on the climate and family demographics, will more likely be in June, when school is out and parents have more time to deal with the sales process.
In an article on the Realtor.com website, Buyer Beware: Spring Isn’t Always the Best Time to Buy, Craig Donofrio discusses the pros and cons of buying a new home on-season compared to off-season, when it’s cold, snowy, and in the middle of the school year. Though there are some advantages to buying in the off-season, there are definitely more of them in the on-season.
However, even if there are more reasons to buy during the on-season, a couple of the reasons to buy during the off-season are definitely worth considering. According to Marcie Geffner at Bankrate.com, buying a home during holiday season may present the best opportunity to pay the lowest price for a house. Two reasons for this are the motivation of the seller to unload the property quickly and the lack of other buyers bidding against you. Of course, with less homes on the market in November and December, your choices will be limited and the property landscaping might be covered by snow.
Hard Data Indicates Autumn Is the Best Time to Buy a Home
During the spring and summer, the inventory of homes listed for sale is at its peak. The opposite is true during the winter. Autumn offers a combination of decent inventory and a desire by sellers to get a deal done before the cold weather and holiday season arrive.
According to Jason Notte at TheStreet.com, the fall is the best time to buy a home, and he has numbers to back up his position. In September 2015, Jason wrote: “Of the 2.7 million sales closed in October over the last 15 years, the average sales price was 2.6% below the average estimated full market value at the time of sale.”
Jason’s article also presents data about the individual best and worst dates in a year to buy a home, as well as the best and worst days of the week. You can’t argue with numbers, so you might want to read his article and watch the accompanying video before you head out to house hunt.
Much to Consider When You Buy a Home
Regardless of when you shop for a house, you probably will want some experienced professional help during the exhausting and often-confusing process of viewing homes for sale in Zionsville or other communities in the Indianapolis metro area. And you definitely should have qualified assistance negotiating the sale when you find the perfect house, especially if you are a first-time home buyer.
If you would like to consult with a licensed Realtor® who specializes in helping first-time home buyers, consider Mike Puckett. He will guide you along the way and offer valuable advice about the houses and neighborhoods you visit. He will also be a big help when the time arrives to make an offer for the home you want to buy. You can contact Mike at mike@mikepuckettrealtor.com.
