When it comes to buying a home, a lot of people will tell you that the best time to look is in the spring or summer seasons. This is when most homeowners looking to sell will put their house up on the market. However, there are a few big advantages to going house hunting during the winter instead. The following are a few reasons you should consider looking for a new home in December:
- There are fewer buyers in December – One of the reasons that many people choose not to go house hunting during December is because it’s a busy time of the year. A lot of people are dealing with family due to the holidays, which means they either don’t have time to go looking for new houses or don’t have the motivation to do so. This means that there will be fewer buyers, which translates to less competition. Less competition means you’re less likely to get into a bidding war, and you’re more likely to be able to negotiate prices with home sellers.
- Owners are often motivated to sell – Homeowners generally don’t list their properties for sale until the spring or summer seasons. This means that even though there may not be as many houses up for sale in December, those that are may be owned by motivated sellers. They’re often selling in December because they have to, when a seller is motivated, they are more likely to be open to negotiating the price or the terms of the sale.
- You can judge the condition of a house better – It’s a lot easier to determine what’s wrong with a house when you’re looking at it during the middle of winter than if you were looking at it in the spring or summer. For example, you’ll be able to tell if the heating system is working properly and whether or not the house is properly insulated during December. For example, finding out whether the house is energy efficient can be as easy as walking around the outskirts of the home and checking for cold drafts coming from the windows. Additionally, if the house feels cold even though the heat is on, then you know there’s something wrong with the heating system. These are things that are more difficult to check for during the spring or summer.
The spring and summer seasons may be considered the peak selling season in the real estate industry, but this doesn’t mean that the winter season is a bad time to look for a new home.
