Home buying tends to be more popular in the spring and summer months. Warm weather is more inviting for open houses, home inspections and moving. However, you can reap significant benefits by choosing to buy a house in the winter months.
Although the weather’s colder, there are many reasons why buying a home in winter can be the best move for you. Let’s check out the ways in which buying in the winter can get you the best bang for your buck!
Top Benefits for Winter House Buying
- Less Competition and Lower Prices: Less competition benefits both home sellers and home buyers. With the majority of homeowners already settling after their spring and summer moves, you’ll have the upper hand when it comes to competition. With fewer buyers to compete with, you’re less likely to enter a bidding war and more likely to have your offer accepted.
- Lower Prices: Just by choosing to buy in the winter, you might get the cheaper deal. Since there aren’t many buyers during the winter season, home prices tend to be lower, giving you more room to negotiate with the seller. You might even get a significantly lower price when buying a house during winter if you do an all-cash offer.
- Motivated Sellers and Faster Closing Times: Whatever the reason may be for the seller to move, odds are they want to get out quickly because it’s better for them to buy in the winter as well. Like mentioned before, you now have room to negotiate, odds are, you’ll get the best deal. When it’s time to close on the house, you’re also likely see a speedier process as compared to a closing in the spring and summer months. Our mortgage loan originators tend to focus on a select few borrowers in the winter, so your wait time will be much shorter – and you’ll be able to move into your new home a lot quicker.
- Enthusiastic Real Estate Agents and Flexible Movers: Real estate agents are busy people, especially when it starts to get warmer. If you decide to buy in the winter, chances are your real estate agent can assist you quicker and get you the best deal. Be sure they’re taking you around to the best homes that fit your needs. As many agents are more flexible during the winter season, they’ll have the time to accommodate you in this way! When all is said and done and it’s time to move into the new home you’ve purchased, instead of doing all the moving yourself, it’s wise to hire professional movers. Naturally, the winter months aren’t as busy for movers, either – so they may very well have extra time in their schedule, and you might even get their service at a discounted rate.
Things To Consider When House Buying In The Winter
Though there are many perks when it comes to buying a house during the winter season, you’ll still want to keep a few things in mind when deciding if this the right season to buy for you.
- Keep Your Receipts On Hand: You should always ask for maintenance receipts and know where you stored them. Cold weather can make it difficult or even impossible to complete certain outside inspections. Some inspections may be delayed due to weather reasons, which might make it harder for the closing of the house to be completed.
- Delayed House Closing: While it’s true the entire process may go a little quicker, there is always the chance that inclement weather can delay inspections and appraisals. That’s why it’s important to work with a mortgage professional when it comes to the home buying process. As previously mentioned, the loan originators and real estate agent should have more of a flexible schedule during the winter, so everything should move quickly – weather permitting.
- Don’t Make an Offer Too Low: Even though you might get a better deal during the winter season due to lower competition, that doesn’t mean you should diminish the seller and their offer. Be realistic and reasonable when making your offer, but also try to get the best deal possible without stepping on any toes.
The Off Season May Be The Best Season
If you’re unsure about buying during the winter months, just keep in mind the pros and cons. There’s also a host of things to consider when selling your home in the winter months.
Working with the right mortgage loan originator and real estate team can lead you in the right direction on when the best time to buy is and how to go about the process. Our experienced local lenders are in your corner and are ready to help! Click here to start your winter homebuying journey.
