The Best Time of Year To Buy a House

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Real estate agents and mortgage lenders alike often have strong opinions about the best time of year to buy a home and how much timing can affect prices. The housing market in general, though volatile at times, has a certain predictability that can help buyers determine the right time start their real estate search.

When it comes to purchasing a home, there is a lot more to do than just saving for a down payment. Beyond closing costs, property taxes and mortgage interest rates, you should also consider how the season can affect house hunting.

Determining the Best Time To Buy a House

In the housing market, supply and demand are always paramount, but with the quietest time of the year being in mid-fall through mid-winter, with a good percentage fewer homes sold in the winter months than in the spring, that is usually the prime time to buy.

Here are a few key takeaways: 

• Because winter is the slowest time for home sales, it generally means it’s one of the cheapest times to buy a house.
• This also means there are typically fewer buyers and less chance of competition or a bidding war. 
• Because the volume of bids is lower, sellers may also be more willing to negotiate the price tag or closing costs. 

As further explained below, there are pros and cons to shopping in each season that could affect your homebuying experience.

Market Conditions Pros and Cons in Every Season

Timing is important, but there is no way around the fact that people have to move throughout the year, whether it’s winter, spring, summer or fall. If you’re timing your move around your children’s school year, or if you need to change your location for work, you should think about the ways in which when you move could impact your real estate journey.

Winter: You Can Be a Cold Negotiator

Because the cold months of December through February often have less inventory, winter could offer the best deals. For example, you might find more willing negotiators in the winter if moving to the Midwest, as sellers there tend to do better in the spring and summer when their homes have more curb appeal.

On the other hand, unlike the rest of the country, the winter months are a great time to buy a house on the West Coast and in the South because of the great weather. So yes, this means sellers could be highly motivated to cut you a deal if they are under a time crunch.

Keep in mind, buyers looking to score a deal in the winter should keep their eyes open for potential problems with a house that has not been properly winterized. Here are some other chilly pros and cons to consider.

Pros

• More wiggle room for price negotiations
• Less chance of bidding wars or competition from other buyers
• Good potential for higher savings overall

Cons

• Fewer houses on the market means less inventory to peruse
• Cold weather can make it challenging to move
• Not an ideal time of the school year to move your kids

Spring: Clean Up in the Housing Market

When spring has sprung, so has the busy season in real estate. For instance, if you are house shopping on the East Coast, Zillow reports that more homes are listed for sale between April and June than at any other time of year. Since there are more properties to choose from, the best will go fast, and they will often go at higher prices because multiple bidders are driving up costs along with demand.

So, you’ll have a lot of inventory to choose from, but some of your favorite picks may move out of your price range thanks to competition from other home buyers. Double-check these pros and cons before cleaning out your closet for a spring move. 

Pros

• No shortage of inventory selections
• Nice weather for house hunting can help you see more places
• Optimal curb appeal for gardens and yards
• Good timing for a move if you have school-age children

Cons

• High competition from other buyers can lead to bidding wars and more expensive housing prices
• Less room for negotiation due to demand
• Prices also start higher due to demand

Summer: Home Sales Can’t Always Stand the Heat

Depending on where you’re moving, high heat can be a deterrent to house hunting. This holds especially true if you are looking to move to the South or Southwest. However, it can be an ideal time to move if you are timing your uprooting to not disrupt your children’s school year. Here are some pros and cons that could let you know if you are getting warm on when is the best time to move.

Pros

• It won’t disrupt the school year for your kids, as they can start at a new school at the beginning of the next school year, so they won’t fall behind
• Outdoor features like pools and patios are at their most appealing
• Sellers may be more motivated as summer progresses if they, too, are trying to optimize a move based on the school year.

Cons

• Hot, humid and sticky weather makes house hunting uncomfortable and could make both buyers and sellers cranky when it comes to negotiation
• Early summer will have the most competition carried over from heavy spring buyer traffic 
• Higher utility costs are more apparent during viewing

Fall: Down Payments Could be Dropping

Late September through October can be a prime home-buying time. Even November, before the holiday season is in full swing, can present great house-buying opportunities. For example, sellers who listed in spring but didn’t sell through the hot summer months may be more motivated to negotiate to move the property by the end of the year, as the demand and competition from other buyers typically decrease toward winter.

Here are some autumnal pros and cons to leaf through before buying:

Pros

• The approaching end-of-year time crunch can create motivated sellers who’ve been on the market longer
• Less competition from other buyers gives you more wiggle room for price negotiations
• Still pleasant weather for moving before the holiday season kicks into full swing

Cons

• Smaller inventory compared to spring for purchasing a home
• Sellers may choose to wait until spring rather than reduce prices for the winter housing market conditions

Final Take To GO

The best time to buy a house for you may depend on larger factors than the season or the region, but if you do have wiggle room in your timeline, the late fall and winter months seem to result in the best deals overall. While there may be less inventory, there’s also less competition driving up the prices as fewer people are house shopping.

This also means that if coming in under budget is your ultimate goal, you’ll have the best chance to negotiate a better deal during this time, as demand typically drops, which makes many sellers highly motivated. Keep in mind that realtors and mortgage brokers are paid on commission, so they will typically bend over backward to make a deal happen during their slow season.

Morgan Quinn and Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

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