When is the best time to buy a house?
Homebuyers have become accustomed to bidding on more than one house, offering more than asking prices and agreeing to pay above the appraised value to strike a deal in today’s hot housing market.
With a limited supply of houses for sale in markets across the country, potential homebuyers are left wondering, is there any relief in sight?
The busy summer selling season, when families try to get settled before the start of the school year, has passed. Now, a new season is upon us — the best time to buy a house, according to a new report by real estate listing marketplace Realtor.com.
“Home prices peaked in the summer, and new listings continue to come on the market helping slow the pace of sales — which is good news for homebuyers,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “As families across the country focus on getting back into school routines, there are fewer buyers in the market, creating a great opportunity especially for first-time homebuyers to make a purchase with somewhat less competition.”
Realtor.com says the prime time for buying — when there are more homes for sale, lower prices and less buyer competition — is here or right around the corner for many markets. Supply and demand conditions will best align for buyers the week of Oct.
3 in most major metropolitan areas, including Houston and Dallas.
“Home shoppers in Houston can take heart that a seasonal sweet spot is on the horizon,” Hale said. The week of Oct. 3 “shoppers will find a good balance of availability and affordability with considerably less frenzied competition than we saw this spring or last fall when the normal seasonal trends were upended by the pandemic.”
Historically, listings rise in the fall and the median asking price declines 4.6 percent from the summer peak, according to Realtor.com. If the trend holds true, Houston buyers — assuming the home sells for the listing
price — could save nearly $17,000 from the summer peak listing price of $366,000.
During the peak buying season in June and July, Houston homes were selling in 36 days. The pace could relax slightly to 49 days, giving buyers almost two extra weeks of breathing room based on past trends, according Hale.
Dan McCarver, a Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene in the Clear Lake area, acknowledged there may be fewer buyers in the market after some decided to extend their leases after failing to make a deal on a home or get out of the game before the school year. But the continued shortage of
inventory — currently less than two months in the Houston area compared to six months for a balanced market — means sellers will continue to have the upper hand, no matter what week it is.
“With COVID taking so many listings off the market, the inventory shrunk so quickly when (mortgage) rates dropped,” McCarver said. “We’re still going to be getting over that shock for quite a while.”
Hot, but cooling
Steve Anton, owner of Hallmark Properties, said the area he works in near the Texas Medical Center bucks seasonal trends.
“I don’t see any diminished demand a certain time of year,”
Anton said. “We’re not seasonal at all. I see a steady demand driven by the Medical Center and downtown that keeps us steady and reliable year-round.”
That said, Anton conceded that that demand, while strong, has cooled from the frenzy of six months ago. He attributes that to families settling on their living situations during the pandemic after deciding to relocate, remodel or home school.
“Now, in the course of the virus, people have figured out how that’s going to look in the next couple of years,” Anton said.