Want a Better Deal on a House? You Might Want to Buy in the Next Month or Two

With mortgage rates having gone up, and home prices not seeming to come down much, some buyers are choosing to wait it out and see how much prices come down.

But there’s not a lot of consensus on whether or not prices will come down, or how much they will if they do. According to this Market Watch article, some predictions are that they’ll be coming down quite a bit in the near future, while others say that they’ll remain stable, if not go even higher. So, waiting may or may not pay off.

Besides, not everyone can wait it out. People buy and sell houses when they need to; it isn’t always driven by mere want. Which is kind of a key point to this whole article…

While prospective buyers can casually be looking and may or may not need to buy right now, if someone has their house on the market in November or December it’s a pretty good sign that they need to sell. It’s more of a commitment for someone to have their house on the market during two months filled with holidays, traveling, and a seasonal drop in real estate activity.

But what makes this November and December a bit more of an opportune time is that you also have buyers who are choosing to put their home search on hold due to market uncertainty, or have been edged out of the market by rising rates. In addition, some sellers may be getting concerned or influenced by news that houses aren’t selling as readily and prices are dropping, whether that’s even true or not in their area.

To put it simply: The time is ripe for you to find yourself a deal.

That said, inventory is still low, and prices aren’t necessarily dropping in every area, so a lot depends upon what’s happening in your local area and the price range of the houses you’re looking at. You also need to keep in mind that, while it’s a good sign when they’re on the market at this time of year, not every seller is motivated or desperate. So don’t bank on everyone who’s trying to sell taking a deeply discounted price for their home.

But if you’re focused on finding a deal, you can more easily find one in the next couple of months, as long as you look for and focus on the deals and opportunities.

The Takeaway:

November and December are historically great times to get a better deal when buying a house. While rates have gone up and prices haven’t come crashing down, the market is shifting in favor of buyers in many areas. If you’re focused on negotiating a better deal on a house, the next two months are a great time to capitalize on the seasonal and overall shifts in the market.