Spring is high season for home sales. But buying in winter means settling down in time to watch the garden bloom in a new home. There’s a lot to be said for that.
In the northern latitudes, home shopping can mean weather-related holdups here and there. But winter is a great time to work with mortgage consultants and real estate agents. It’s also the perfect time to see how a place looks and feels when the comforts of home matter most.
Shopping Online Keeps Home Buyers Warm—And Smart.
Some buyers and sellers believe real estate enters semi-hibernation mode in winter. If that ever were true, it’s not now. Most everyone, Boomers to Gen Z, goes online to look for homes and compare deals. Online access to plentiful information about a home, including virtual tours, has evened out seasonal home selling and buying.
Online home shoppers can do much more than just sift through the details of this house and that one. They can also look through the pricing history of the homes, and surrounding homes. It’s an excellent way to study the markets in various locations.
It’s clear from the information available over the internet that the market is shifting. In late 2022, sellers can’t expect multiple bidders to send prices soaring. In some places, home prices are being reduced.
Look for signs that property values are stalling and inventories are expanding. ‘Tis the season… when a hopeful buyer might just catch a break. With sellers motivated to move, winter home shopping can make perfect sense.
Let’s check out the stats.
In Winter, You’re Less Likely to Pay Over the Listing Price.
Attom, a property data firm, has come out with its new statistics on U.S. home sales. The firm has looked at data from high-volume selling days. The question was what people will wind up paying for homes, versus their listing prices.
And here’s the upshot. Autumn and winter buyers are most likely not to pay more than the list price. Of course, each transaction has its own set of circumstances. But overall, buyers who can get to the closing table in winter can rack up five-figure savings, relative to buyers who start shopping in the milder months.
It makes sense. Consider the homes for sale in December. This is not a typical seller’s first pick of all possible moving months. Often, the December home sale is happening because the seller is moving with a company, working with a year-end deadline, or adjusting to a fundamental life change.
All this means a lot of folks are on a mission to come to the closing table by December 31. They might want the home sale included in their tax return planning. The new owner, too, will want to start deducting mortgage interest and property taxes, and some of the mortgage loan costs.
Winter days are short. Sellers are pressed for time. In short, many of the December and January home sellers are mindful of timing, just as many buyers are. Many winter sellers are motivated to work quickly when they find serious buyers.
This Could Be a Good Time to Hold a Mortgage Broker’s Attention.
December, January, and February always tend to be slow months for mortgage companies. And that’s especially true this year.
For the stats, we turn again to Attom, the real estate data firm. It has just released its new U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report — this one covering the third quarter of 2022. Here’s what’s going on in the mortgage world, as we head into winter in 2022:
- U.S. home buyers took out 1.97 million mortgages in the third quarter of 2022.
- That figure was down 19%, quarter-over quarter — and it’s the sixth quarterly decrease in a row.
- We’re currently witnessing the most serious annual drop in mortgage originations in 21 years!
So now, even the mortgage industry is struggling. And the thin silver lining belongs to hopeful buyers, who have been waiting for an 11-year hot housing market to cool off.
In this environment, mortgage companies might be willing to extend incentives to new applicants. And loan approvals should be relatively speedy. The promise of a prompt closing further motivates winter sellers to accept purchase offers.
Wintertime Lull? We’ll Take It.
Borrowing, buying, and moving all rely on help from the career professionals who make things happen. We’ve already mentioned that December, January, and February make up the slow season for lenders, loan officers, and mortgage consultants.
Similarly, real estate agents may have time on their hands during winter. Having an agent’s keen attention is critical to a buyer’s optimal success.
Meanwhile, sellers may have time away from their regular work schedules, and could be more likely to be free on a closing date that works with the buyer’s schedule.
Local home inspectors, too, have more slots to schedule home visits. Great! It’s a good idea for a buyer to set up times to attend inspections together with their agents, and to examine every inch of a home. House hunting in winter can show buyers and home inspectors how a home handles harsh weather.
Local renovation companies might have time on their hands and year-end deals in store.
Winter is the cheapest time to reserve assistance from a professional moving service, as demand is low.
These are a few reasons a winter lull works out for buyers.
A Winter Purchase Is a Win—For the Buyer Who’s Ready.
Buying a home makes sense whenever a person’s life circumstances make it so. Buying a home makes sense when a decent opportunity on a home comes into view. These factors can converge just as easily in winter as in any other season. In fact, the statistics are on the home buyer’s side in winter.
All that said…
While buying in winter does have real advantages, mortgage rates are up from 2021. And home prices are still very high. Deciding on the right time to buy a home isn’t all about market conditions anyway.
Clare Trapasso, the executive news editor of Realtor.com®, said this:
Your personal circumstances and finances, not the state of the housing market, should be the deciding factor on whether you make an offer on a home or wait until prices and mortgage rates come down.
This rings true at the moment. It will likely ring true for years.
Supporting References
Katie Krzaczek for The Philadelphia Inquirer: The Best Time to Buy a Home Could Be Right Now – A New Analysis of U.S. Home Sales From 2013 to 2021 Found That the Fall and Winter Months Were the Best Times to Buy (Oct. 14, 2022).
Trulia Blog: Surprising Reasons to Buy a House In Real Estate’s “Worst Month” (citing survey results from ATTOM Data Solutions).
Erik J. Martin for The Mortgage Reports (from Full Beaker, Inc.): December Is the Best Month to Buy a Home for Less (Dec. 2, 2018).
ATTOM: Steep Drop in Mortgage Lending Continues Across U.S. in Third Quarter, Hitting Three-Year Low (Nov. 17, 2022).
Clare Trapasso for Realtor.com®: On the House: Should First-Timers Bother Trying to Buy a Home Right Now? (Nov. 2, 2022).
And as linked.
Photo credits: Sindre Fs and Ivan Samkov, via Pexels.