The Best Time Of The Year To Buy Property (2024)

The best time of the year to buy property is when nobody else is looking to buy property. With less competition, you can potentially get a better deal.

Therefore, the best time of the year to buy real estate is during the winter months – specifically late November, December, January, and early February. The rainier, snowier, and colder, the better!

Conversely, the worst time to try and sell property is also during the winter months. Listing your property around the holidays and during the middle of winter may signify desperation.

Savvy buyers know that if a seller wasn't desperate, the seller could easily wait 3-4 months and list during the Spring when buyers come out in full force. The same thing for sellers listing during the middle of shelter-in-place versus waiting until open houses are allowed again.

The Best Time Of The Year To Buy Property: Winter Months

The best months of the year to buy property are: December, January, and February.

Here are the reasons why winter is the best season to buy real estate:

Fewer People Are Buying.

December through January are prime holiday months. The last thing anybody wants to do during Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's is to shop for a house. The weather is generally also the worst during this time of the year.

Meanwhile, due to traditional company budget spending cycles, there're fewer job turnovers and relocations. Given these factors, your competition to find that perfect property goes way down.

More Motivated Sellers.

Given we all know that the holidays are between November and January, the act of listing property during this time period indicatesthe seller is desperate.By waiting until February or March to list, a seller greatly increases the pool of potentials buyers.

By listing between November and January, however,the seller may very well beshouting, “I can't wait! I need your money now!”Thus, as a buyer, you have a much better chance of winning a lowball offer.

See The Property At Its Worst.

If you like the property during the middle of winter, then you should love the property during all the other seasons. Winter is when a property is subjectedto the harshest conditions.

You should test insulation, working pipes, the HVAC unit, the windows, the roof, and everything that get stressed during the winter. Here are 10 warning signs to look for before buying a house.

People have poor imaginations, which is why staging a home is big business.Your job as a buyer is to look beyondthe shaggy green rug. Discover thebeautiful oak wood floors underneath.

When you can see the property at its worst and when it is facing the harshest winter elements, this is when you will have the most confidence to buy. Water damage from leaky pipes or roofs is the most common type of property damage. Therefore, you want to inspect the house with contingencies during the winter seasons. If all checks out, you have greater confidence in going forward with the purchase.

What About The Lack Of Property Supply?

As a buyer,please know there are still plenty of homes to choose from in December, January, and February.

One quick look on Zillow or Redfin will show plenty of homes for sale. Are you telling me you can't find one home in the map you'd find desirable? Of course you can!

I've often seen agents, who because they are anxious to get a listing, will convince sellers to list during the winter because there are fewer competing homes on the market.

While I can see the merit in this selling point, over the past 20 years of observing the markets in San Francisco, New York, and Lake Tahoe, it's almost always the case that demand for homes in the Spring, Summer, and Fall has far outstripped the increase in new listings before and after winter.

This winter is especially a good time to hunt for deals. The housing market has frozen over since mortgage rates have skyrocketed. But inflation is down tremendously since a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022. Hence, it's just a matter of time before mortgage rates decline and pent-up demand for real estate gets unleashed. I expect that time will come in 2024.

If you can successfully make a low-ball real estate offer for 10% – 20% below April 2022 prices, I think you're going to do great long run. If mortgage rates decline, you can refinance and save.

Don't List Your Property During The Winter

Even if your home is amazing, listing it duringthe winter months maycarry a stigma. Further, you won'tbe able to attract familieswith children. This is because most of the timethesefamiliesonly moveduring the summer.

The biggest knock to a property is that once it stayson the market for over 60 days it becomes “stale fish.”Stale fish properties lose theiremotional connection with potential buyers. Buyersstart wondering what is wrong with the property. When buyers no longer feel emotionally connected, they stop making offers.

The best time to buy property is also the worst time to sell. People are creatures of habit. They will make new year's resolutions to buy property. They will also tend to look for ways to spend their year-end bonus money, which often gets paid in February and March.

It is very hard to be a real estate buyer in December or January when your bonus money has not hit your bank account yet.

Real Estate Price Performance By Month

To determine the best time of the year to buy property, take a look at the real estate price performance by month.

Below is a great chart by the Federal Reserve and Census Bureau. It shows the median price and median days on market before closing for homes by month.

As you can see, properties listed in December, January, and February have the highest median days on market before closing. Hence, buying property during those months may offer more pricing discounts.

January has the lowest median sales price at closing and stays on the market the longest = the best time to buy a home. February is also a great time to buy a house as well.

Conversely, June is the worst month to buy a property due to its highest median sales price at closing and shortest days on market.

In addition to finding a home for sale during the depths of winter, you should also look for a sale due to adivorce, a job loss, or a liquidity crunch.

You can find such information out by simply inquiring with the hungry real estate agent eager to make a sale. Be opportunistic and take advantage of desperate scenarios if the math works. As a prodigious wealth accumulator, this is your sacred duty!

Best Month To Buy Property

Below is more great data by ATTOM Data Solutions. It shows the number of sales, median sales price, median estimated value, and premium by month from 2013 – 2020.

Based on the data in the above chart, October is the best month to buy property because the Premium is lowest at 2.9%. Therefore, if you want to buy property, look in October, November, December, January, and February.

Real Estate Investment Suggestion

If you want to dollar-cost average in this current weak real estate market, take a take a look at Fundrise. Fundrise is a private real estate investing company that invests in single-family rentals in the Sunbelt. The investment minimum is only $10 and there are various diversified private funds to choose from.

Long-term, I believe in the growth of the Sunbelt region due to technology and work from home. The pandemic has accelerated the move for more people to live in lower-cost areas of the country.

Another established private real estate investing platform isCrowdstreet.Crowdstreetoffers accredited investors individual deals run by sponsors that have been pre-vetted for strong track records. Many of their deals are in 18-hour cities where there is potentially greater upside.

If you want to get more surgical in your private real estate investments,Crowdstreetis a good solution. I've met the people atCrowdstreeton two separate occasions and came away impressed with their risk-management and product offerings. Just make sure to thoroughly review each sponsor as well.

Personally, I've invested $954,000 in real estate crowdfunding to diversify my SF-heavy real estate holdings and earn more passive income.

The Best Time Of The Year Or Best Month To Buy Property is a Financial Samurai original post. Join 60,000+ others and sign up for my free weekly newsletter for more content. I've been around since 2009.