When is the Best Time to Buy or Sell a Home?

What a roller coaster of a market it has been! We have been living in a new “normal” world, but not fully knowing what that normal is, per say. We no longer get together with friends in the same way, ordering Door Dash more frequently, and moving in for a hug now can feel extra awkward. But, hey! We are still working out the kinks of this new “normal”. Of course, this is something that we will eventually figure out, but one thing that we need to figure out NOW is “When is the best time to sell and/or buy a home?”

The common rule of thumb has been that it is best to sell your home during spring and summer seasons. Is this still true? Was it ever true? What about the other months and seasons? What about southern states? I want to ease your worries and help you understand the pros and cons of buying/selling in different seasons of a year.

According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ research in 2022, a real estate research firm, selling your home in the summertime is statistically the best time to sell. Though this is true, the actual home-selling process begins earlier, more like immediately after tax season. After taxes are done, school starts to wind down, expenses tame down, and families start to nibble at the idea of buying or selling. Since majority of buyers are usually families or couples, we can then get a better understanding of why spring and summer are the winners of the season to sell and buy properties. Depending on where you live, longer summer days, warmer weather, and children being home are all great initiators to get out and shop for a home.

If there is a good time to buy or sell, then is there a bad time to buy or sell? We decided to compartmentalize this for you by season:

SPRING – March, April, May

The spring marks the start of the relisting or listing season. This opens the door for a lot of potential homebuyers coming out of hibernation hoping to buy/move into a new home. This means that the market is overflowing with listings.

But….

Since this same mentality is used across the board, the influx of listings causes a rise in competition for anyone trying to sell. Because more listings become available, pricing your property at a higher price point might cause the house to sit on the market longer. If the listing sits on the market for too long, this gives off a red flag for a buyer and might cause them to not look at the listing, typically because there will be a buzz of “What is possibly wrong with this listing that it has not sold yet?”

This means high competition when selling, properties are priced more competitively, and best time for buyer to buy.

SUMMER – June, July, August

The most wonderful thing about this time of the year is that there is a lot of inventory on the market (typically) as many sellers are anticipating more buyers. The activity that started in the spring trickles down into the summer, meaning you can still find a reasonable home and price, but be conscience of the fact that there might be more than just one buyer bidding on the property. Plus, when there is more inventory, the prices for the homes are relatively reasonable.

For a seller, this is good because seller might get more bites on the house or even make some extra money on it. For a buyer, you have options and time.

You also have the perk, and most people prefer this, of moving when it is warm. Even if your purchase trickles into the fall season, it is still comfortable weather for a move to occur. Typical consumer behavior suggest that consumers are more relaxed and open to making purchases when they are relaxed and experience happiness, which is often due to Vitamin D, longer days, and warm weather that causes a sense of vacation mode to be turned on.

But…

Unfortunately, as a buyer you can find yourself over-bidding because of more buyers on the market for the same house as the same time as you.

For a seller, there are still a good number of other sellers listing their homes in summer, anticipating lots of buyers, so competition is still running high. Normally, it’s tougher to price your home at higher price during this time.

FALL – September, October, November

At this point, many buyers have purchased homes and are slowly settling in. Typically, these are families that have children that need to begin school. But, there usually is plenty of inventory left for viewing. For sellers, this season slows down, unless they haven’t sold. This is also a time where properties get reviewed for modifications and additions.  By default, due to weather, the fall is the best time of the year to renovate.

For the buyer, this is still a wonderful time to shop for a home because there is still plenty of inventory available, with possibly better pricing than before as sellers prefer to sell before holidays begin. There are also the buyers that are choosing to save up a bit more and leave buying for the next spring/summer. This puts any buyers still shopping in a position of less competition with other buyers.

The downside of being a buyer during the autumn season is there is a possibility of less inventory due to either sellers keeping their home off the market, or the “good” homes being snatched up by other, quicker buyers. In simpler terms, less inventory + still good number of buyers = slight hike up in home prices. 

WINTER – December, January, February

As a seller, you face less competition during the winter season because there are less sellers selling their homes. Most sellers choose to wait to sell in the spring to catch the market season filled with more buyers. If you decide to be a seller in the winter, this gives you a higher chance of your home getting chosen as there is less inventory to compete with. This also gives you a window to price up thanks to the lack of inventory. This all sounds great, but unfortunately, because this is a slower season, this also means that there aren’t as many buyers as in the busier spring/summer season.

Out of all the seasons, winter is the least desirable season for a buyer. Since there are not many sellers opting to list their homes on the market, those that do list in winter typically like to raise the price. Think of it as “supply vs. demand”. The good news for a buyer in this scenario is that if there is a house you found and want to buy, you will not be dealing with much competition when bidding on it, allowing you to get what you want (if all goes well).

BUT….

The real estate market loves to keep us on our toes. The best season to buy and/or sell can vary greatly depending on the market, neighborhood, state of the world, and so much more!

Regardless of what the market scenario is and what season you’re in, the best idea for when purchasing or selling your home is to seek expert advice from a local real estate agent.

Statistically speaking, real estate is a long-term investment. If you are planning to sell, you are most likely selling with the intention of buying something elsewhere. If not, you are still making a very serious financial decision and could use a smart, supportive, and knowledgeable liaison for such a decision.

If you are a buyer, you are about to make the decision for the next possibly 7-10 years of your life. You are picking where you will spend most of your days. Where many of your new “firsts” will happen. You are picking new neighbors, that one day might become your best friends or additions to your family. You are investing in your future finances, your job locations, and so many more serious decisions. No matter the reason, it is very important to hire a great agent, and they are worth every penny because the perks of working with a local agent are endless. They are in the business of customer satisfaction; they study and understand the surrounding area. To make this simpler, you don’t go to a neurologist to fix your heart problem, but instead you would go to a cardiologist.

If you need to sell your home or finding a new home, call a local real estate agent, or ask your friends if they know one. But don’t take this task on by yourself.

If you are looking for a new home in the Philadelphia, Bucks or Montgomery County areas, Alena Votchits can be with you every step of the way and make buying and/or selling your lovely home the most stress-free experience.