In the days between September 12 and October 17, cities like Denver, Portland, Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, and nearly all real estate markets in the United States promote additional offers. More homes go up for sale with economical listing prices and fewer buyers visit the site compared to other weeks of the year.
Peak Season
October 3rd to 9 is expected to be the ideal week to buy a home for most markets in the United States. Usually, there would be almost 705,000 listings on the market that week. That is 100,000 more listings than in July, which is generally viewed as the peak season for buying properties.
Moreover, home prices usually drop by 2.6% during the first week of October compared to the typical seasonal peak during June. That means a median home might be listed for $10,000 less. And in the larger housing markets, prices can fall more than 10%.
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Market Perception
It’s also foreseen that buyers will face 18% less competition during these days rather than summer and 6% less than during the regular week. This could be because the first week of October is when families with children focus on back to school. Moreover, homeowners feel that they wouldn’t make a sale when the winter season begins.
However, some people do find reasonable prices in winter, even though fewer homes would be available on the market. The premium would usually be about 1.5% during December — that is less compared to summer.
The premium is highest in June than at any other time of the year. It’s never advisable to purchase a home during spring, early summer, or June as houses sell quickly and buyers wouldn’t get a chance to negotiate. However, if you live in Florida or other warmer places, you wouldn’t find any seasonal price differences.
Time to Prepare
If you want to benefit from the current sale season, you must start preparing yourself for it. Grasp the difference between a fixed-rate and an adjustable-rate mortgage to decide what would work well for your situation. And you can be prepared in the following ways:
- Reach out to mortgage lenders and get pre-approved for a home loan.
Having a pre-approval letter shows that you have your funds ready and would surely make a decision soon. You’ll also get an idea of the budget and plan your finances accordingly once you’re pre-approved for a mortgage.
- Find a real estate agent. A real estate agent knows everything about the market and the ground reality of the territory you’re planning to explore. You can also get an honest assessment from people who live in the area.
- Don’t waste time looking at homes with features you may not need or a house not within your budget. Instead, you can have a few deals on your list and narrow them down to the best deals in your category.
- Mortgage rates are very competitive right now, and it’s highly likely that you would be approved for a home loan very quickly, along with a generous amount of savings.
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Low-Interest Rates We Haven’t Seen in Decades
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought down rates to a historic low. If not for the pandemic, the usual rates during this season would have been pretty high. It has not been this low for decades. However, it’s improbable that interest rates would be this low for much longer. Thus, it is critical to make a decision today, even if you’re looking to refinance and cut the mortgage payment or you want to purchase a new home.
