Making a deal on a house is like any negotiation: It’s all about leverage.
No one wants to pay the list price, but if you don’t think about your negotiating position before making an offer, you might end up paying even MORE than the list price. With that in mind, the most important way to gain leverage when looking to buy a new house is to pick the right time of year to start looking. There are distinct advantages to buying a house in different seasons, so when you choose to buy depends on what you value: options or a lower price-tag.
More Options In The Spring
It’s well known that the housing market goes haywire in the spring. As soon as the winter snows have thawed, and we’ve awoken from our hibernation, for some of us, our very first thought seems to be to buy a new house. At the beginning of spring, new listings flood the market, followed by a wave of potential buyers which makes the spring real estate market very exciting, especially for first-time home buyers. The boom of new listings hitting the market is great news for anyone who wants to have a wide variety of choice in the marketplace, but it also causes a lot of complications when it comes to sealing the deal on your dream home.
With increased competition out there, securing a deal can be extremely difficult. Many houses are going to have multiple offers made on them, and sellers are incentivized to wait until they get the price they want. When it comes to timing, May is the busiest month for new listings, and as a result, June is the busiest month for homes being sold. If you’re looking to buy in the spring market, you might be able to get the house you want, but you probably won’t be able to get it for the low-end price you were hoping for.
Better Prices In The Winter
If the key to getting a decent price is shopping when the competition is minimal, then on what days is this the case?
Holidays.
Not everyone can spend Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday out looking for houses, but for those able to get out into the market, the opportunities are enormous. With far less competition to worry about, buying on any holiday drives down the price, but during the winter months specifically, the advantages are even more pronounced.
If someone puts their house up for sale during December or January, buyers can be confident that the sellers are eager to close the deal. Otherwise, they would have waited until the more lucrative spring months. After all, not everyone has the luxury of choosing when they sell their house, as any number of circumstances may have forced them to do so. This means that the buyer will have much more leverage during the negotiation phase. In the winter, houses take much longer to sell, and it is more often the buyer that is dragging out the process, waiting for a better deal opposed to the spring market where the seller tends to make the process longer waiting for the right price.
By carefully scheduling your home buying adventure into the housing market, the wise home buyer can save themselves tens of thousands of dollars. Winter is clearly the best season to aim for to obtain the best property for the lowest price and having a pre-approved mortgage in place before you start shopping can make the process even smoother for you. If you’re a first-time home buyer looking for a little direction in order to better navigate today’s housing market or you would like to get pre-approved for the mortgage you need to get moving, feel free to give me a call at 705-315-0516. I will make sure that you have as much leverage as possible when negotiating a fair price for your dream home, and I look forward to helping you sign that deal.