Where to Find Good Deals
When is good time to buy is one of the most common questions, I’m asked.
The answer is really – it depends! There’s always pros and cons to finding your perfect home.
In the New England area, weather plays a huge role in determining the answer. So, we are talking about the 4 seasons now. 🙂
You may be thinking – seasons and home buying, how in the world are they related? Well, let’s start with the onset of winter. It is the holiday season for one. ‘Tis also the season for snow and low temperatures forcing most of us to hibernate indoors or pick up some winter activities related to snow or just party through the holiday season with friends and family. There are barely any people out looking for homes or even selling homes for that matter. If you see a home for sale in the winter months, it’s because most likely, those sellers are desperate to sell. Which means it may be a good deal for any buyers that are still looking in that time frame. However, if there is snow on the ground, there is not much that can be seen externally by the inspector. In addition, you have no idea what the yard looks like.
You may have gotten the best deal on your new home but come spring, you realize there is really no yard and there are foundation issues or cracks in the foundation on the exterior, this may turn out to be the most expensive deal you ever got.
Now, come spring people are ready to get out of hibernation and just BUY! This is the time most sellers decide to list their homes since the prep has gone through the winter, they have decluttered and are ready. A lot of this also depends on the school calendar. For folks who want to get out or into town, right after school ends is the best time to pack up and move. Assuming a rough timeline of 6-7 weeks to closing, most of the offers are accepted in the April time frame. Any homes that came on the market in spring (approx. March time frame) but didn’t sell because they didn’t show well or weren’t priced well, will be available to buyers to get a sweet deal in June, July, August. Towards the end of August and beginning of September, is the next wave for new inventory that comes before winter creeps back again. This “fall” wave lasts for around 6-8 weeks and things start to slow down once again come November.