Seasons for Buying

There are seasons in the real estate market. You have an advantage if you are looking at houses when other people aren't! The busiest time for real estate is typically mid-February to end of May. Summer is slower, and prices tend to dip from end of June to mid-August. Activity picks up again when the vacation season is over, and will tail off again in November as the holiday season approaches.

Remember, activity affects pricing! The best times to shop for a house is when others are shopping for gifts, or in the doldrums of summer when other people are on vacation or relaxing in their back yards! Of course most often people have a house to sell in order to buy another one. One way to overcome that and still take advantage of 'seasons', is to sell in the best season but have a long closing to allow you to buy when the market has 'cooled'.

Why does activity affect pricing? The law of supply and demand - the greater the demand for a product, the more valuable the product will become.