When’s the Best Time to Buy a House?

In life, timing is everything – and that rule of thumb applies all the same when you’re in the market for a new home. There are a number of factors that a buyer considers when purchasing a property. These reasons may be personal, financial, or logistical. When determining if the time is right to buy, you need to determine what is most important to you and whether the market conditions are most suitable to you.

1. Is the market hot?

Statistics show that the highest volume of new listings pop up in the Spring. If you are a buyer who has determined what they want with great specificity, this will be the time you need to look at properties. This is often when the cream-of-the-crop is available. However, this will ultimately be more advantageous to sellers. When the market is hot, buyers will compete with one another for the best properties available. Creating a bidding war only stands to benefit the seller. Homes will go fast as offers come in.

Buyer Tip: If you find your dream home, you will need to act fast. A buyer that is too passive buyer will miss out as fortune favors the bold!   

2. Is there something better out there?

Some buyers will elect to wait with hopes that a better property or better deal will present itself. For those who are truly patient, the right opportunity usually comes around. For buyers who are willing to wait, prices may drop as Summer comes to an end and Fall begins. Around this time of year, homes that have been on the market for some time will decrease in asking price with the aim of finding buyers in a new price bracket. Families with children will want to be settled into a new home before the school year. As a result, all parties may be more inclined to get a deal done.

Buyer Tip: There will always be other houses out there that could potentially be a better fit or deal. Don’t let this stop you from making a move on the great deal right in front of you!

3. What if interest rates drop?    

Ultimately, only Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, knows what will happen with interest rates. However, Powell has made recent statements that have led many economists to believe that the Fed will drop interest rates as soon as next month. In addition to an influx of people refinancing their mortgages, buyers will look to secure lower interest rates and purchase property. If a lower interest rate is all that has been holding you back, the time may soon be right.

Buyer Tip: Remember that option to refinance. Even if you don’t get the rate you wanted initially, rates could always prove more favorable in the future, giving you a chance to Re-Fi! 

There is not a one-size-fits-all for the right time to buy a house. For most, when you know, you know. Depending on location, financial status, or countless other factors, only you will know if now is the time to buy, or if patience is the key. Every family, couple, and individual has different considerations and factors that weigh on purchasing a home. To discuss the factors that are most important to you, and to discuss some things you might not yet be considering, contact Goosmann Law Firm’s offices in Sioux City, Sioux Falls, or Omaha.