Understanding Real Estate Buying Markets for First Time Home Buyers

As in any consumer industry, there are times that can be more opportune for buying a home than other times of the year. In general, buying a home has a few peak seasons in similar ways to other markets. But the season is not the same as the traditional consumer markets. Buying a home in the slower housing market can have significant benefits because the cost of buying a house is substantial. Purchasing a house is usually the most significant investment a person makes in their lifetime.

Knowing the Local Market

Unlike making other major purchases, there can be some confusion about what time of year is the best to make a home purchase for first time home buyers. In real estate, two market times tend to be busier than other times of the year. Unlike investing in a new car, which can be purchased at significant discounts during their busy buying periods such as “end of the year sales” or President's Day, it is usually the opposite of home buying. When the real estate market is busy, the price of houses goes up.

Peak real estate markets can be a bit tricky to maneuver because the supply of homes on the market may be limited, and they often sell quickly. This can be frustrating for new home buyers who don't want to jump into a major purchase without having time to be sure the home they are considering is the best choice for them. Off-season buying usually allows buyers more opportunities to shop around and negotiate a better purchase price.

Seasonal Real Estate Buying

Busy seasons can vary depending on locations. Knowing the busy season in the area that is being considered for a home purchase is essential. However, two real estate seasons are considered busy in regular housing markets and varied busy seasons for specialty markets.

For general house buying, the spring housing market is the single busiest time of year to buy a home. Because the process of being approved for a mortgage and have all the inspections completed on a home takes time, early spring buyers complete the process during the most seasonable weather time of year to move into their new home. Early spring buyers will have their final mortgage processing complete during the warmer months of late spring. Late spring buying allows buyers to move into their new home when the children are out of school. This is often a significant consideration for families.

In some markets, mid-summer can be busy, and they plan to make an early fall move. But because many people go on vacation during the summer, processing tends to be a bit slower. Even getting mortgage financing during the summer months can be more challenging because people in the financial industry go on vacation.

Usually, the second busiest season for traditional market home buying is early fall. Buying during the early fall allows families to be in their new home before the holidays, which can be very popular when moving locally.

Special Housing Markets

In specialty housing markets such as areas around waterways or other natural wonders, peak buying season is usually just before the season when people flock to the area. While peak travel to waterways can be the warmer months, in regions with tourism during the colder months, peak buying season may be the fall.

Peak Season Buying

For new home buyers looking for a particular type of home, the season they buy in may be of little consequence. Some buyers are not concerned with paying a higher price for a home if they can get more of what they seek in a home.

You can look at real estate newsletter templates to know generally what the slow months and peak months in your area look like and generally when they happen.

Slower Market Months

For home buyers looking to bargain shop, the best time to buy is during the slower months when sellers are more motivated to sell. This can help buyers save as much as 10-15% off the purchase price. The quieter months for buying a home and getting a good price are January through early March and July through September.

First-time home buyers should research real estate tools to better understand the home buying process. Additionally, analyzing the local market trends before house hunting begins can help buyers know the best buying times in their area.

To ensure that the buying process goes without a hitch, one of the best things to do is to get prequalified for a mortgage before starting the home buying process. This will help sellers feel confident they are qualified buyers when they receive an offer. This can also help the mortgage lending process go quicker since the mortgage company already has some of the necessary information for processing.