If you are looking to buy a home, now may be the right time.
In the year A new analysis of US home sales from 2013 to 2021 found that October had the lowest average premiums, followed closely by the fall and winter months.
The analysis, by Atom, a real estate and property data firm that tracks more than 155 million properties in the country, used data from more than 10,000 home sales on any given day.
“We looked at what people pay for properties at different times of the year relative to list price, and the lowest premium over list price occurs in the fall and winter months,” explained Rick Sharga, Atom’s executive vice president of market intelligence.
Alban Xhema, a licensed real estate agent in Philadelphia, said less competition at the end of the year makes buyers’ offers more attractive, but notes that low inventory may make buyers more willing to jump on the property if they’re buying a home. At this time.
“I don’t think sellers are willing to make discounts in autumn or winter,” Shema said, adding that fewer buyers will create competition between them.
Still, when you offer the most attractive offer out of five, not 15, you’re more likely to seal the deal.
» Read more: Big investors are buying homes in Philly. Here’s what it means for landlords and tenants.
“I think that’s really the main driver: you have buyers who are pushing the price up, bringing in better terms, better financing or more cash,” Xhema said.
Atom’s analysis looked at the best time to buy in each state.
In Pennsylvania, “it’s a little later in the winter than other parts of the country, but that’s basically when you get the best deals since fall,” Sharga said. December was the best time to buy in the Keystone State, with a 0.9% discount from market value, according to Atom.
New Jersey sales fell sharply in February, falling 3.9% below market value. That was the largest drop of any month in any state.
Because Atom’s data extends back to before Covid hit, it gives a clear view of which trends have changed, especially during the outbreak.
“We have seen a change in seasonal patterns,” Sharga said.
» Read more: Home buyers this summer since 1987 Since then, you’ve seen mortgage rates swing up and down more than ever before.
In the year After missing the spring and summer home selling season of 2020, “we’ve seen a lot of unusually strong home sales in the middle of the year,” he said, pointing to some “side effects that you don’t normally expect to see in the housing market later in the year.”
Sharga said most families look for homes in the spring and summer after school is out. The pandemic has changed that for some.
» Read more: As interest rates rise, more homebuyers are considering adjustable rate loans.
“Many people choose to move when they can afford to live where they want to live,” he says, working from home. “Historically… a very high percentage of homeowners and families don’t like to scare kids in the middle of the school year. [Now] People moved around the school year, not around work.
That change hasn’t affected pricing trends when people shop, Sharga said.
Although all prices were increasing, there was still some seasonality in prices. They go a little slower in the fall and winter months,” he said.
