For home buyers hoping to snag a deal, they might want to make a move now. Home prices in January usually decrease in comparison to the spring and summer buying season.
January, February Ideal for Purchasing
There’s plenty of research to back that up too. NerdWallet recently crunched 24 months of realtor.com® data that reflected the 50 largest U.S. metros. Researchers found that January and February were the top months for anyone looking to get a bargain. In those months, home sales prices were 8.45% lower generally than in June through August.
However, this current year may be a little different. Buyer demand has remained high through the entire fall, and home prices failed to take their usual dip this January, says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist. Still, he maintains right now is a favorable time to buy as a result of ratio of inventory to sales (quite simply, the volume of homes for sale compared to the quantity of the competition). In 2016, he says, there were nearly double as many people buying in June than in January. Further, NerdWallet’s analysis found a 47% drop in January sales when compared with July over the past 24 months of data.
“You basically face almost half of the competition with almost the same amount of inventory in the market,” Smoke says. Buyers likely will face fewer homes with multiple bidders and may find they have more negotiating power with sellers.
Indeed, NerdWallet’s analysis found that in the last two January’s, the median home sold for $7,003 less than the listing price.
“As we look toward spring and later in 2017, [mortgage rates are] another reason to buy in January and February,” Smoke says. “Because rates are expected to be about 50 basis points, or half a percent, more as the year goes on.”
So you will want Nick & Cindy Davis to be on your team. We work hard to assist you in finding the home of your dreams here in the Tampa Bay Area. We are always just a click here or call to 813-300-7116 away.
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