If you are ready to buy a house, you will have to figure out the timing for your home purchase. The best time to buy a house depends on a number of factors. These include the time of year, market trends in your area, interest rates, and your individual scenario. Let’s discuss in more depth.
The Best and Worst Times of Year for Buying a Home
If you just want the largest number of listings, you can try shopping for a home in spring or early summer. But there’s a catch. Competition is highest during this time of year, so prices tend to be steeper.
For that reason, March through August are widely considered the worst months to purchase a home.
Fewer people are shopping for a home during fall and winter. So, prices are lower from September through February. From a cost-saving standpoint, these are the best months to shop for a home.
- Other Considerations. Aside from the time of year, there are some other factors that are also important to assess when timing a home purchase.
- Local Market Trends. Home values tend to rise during spring and summer and fall during autumn and winter, but there may sometimes be other local market trends taking place. For instance, say there is a large increase in housing inventory in a local market during summer. Normally, prices in summer would be higher than in autumn or winter. But with that influx of new inventory, competition for housing becomes less steep. The result may actually be lower prices. So, be on the lookout for opportunities like this.
- Interest Rates. Interest rates rise and fall over time based on a wide range of economic factors. You can follow along with economic news and check interests rates to see these fluctuations. Buying a home when interest rates are lower can be the key to saving thousands of dollars over the course of your mortgage. It can also make the difference between whether a home is affordable to buy or not. It can be challenging to predict what will happen to interest rates over the weeks or months ahead. But you can look up predictions. Read the rationale behind them and see if you agree. Even though you should try to minimize your interest rate, however, there are situations where it may still make sense to buy sooner rather than waiting for rates to drop. The sooner you buy, the sooner you can begin building equity and taking advantage of your investment rising in value.
- Your Personal Scenario. Not all factors that are involved with timing a home purchase have to do with what is going on in the broader economy. Sometimes it also comes down to your personal needs. Maybe you are bleeding a ton of money into the black hole of rent right now. Even if interest rates might drop further in the future, if you can afford to buy a home today, it could be a wise financial move. Your money will start going into equity instead of just lining a landlord’s pockets. Weigh all the pros and cons, and buy a home when it is going to help you achieve your financial and personal goals.
Buy a Home in Blacksburg or Beyond
If the time is right for you to buy a home, First Residential Mortgage can walk you quickly and easily through the application process. To get started, please give us a call at (540) 838-5868 to schedule your consultation. We can connect you with a suitable mortgage to buy a home in Blacksburg or anywhere in Virginia.
