When Is the Best Time to Go House Hunting?

June 13, 2023

When is the best time of year to go house hunting? If you think of the process from the seller’s point of view, spring and summer are the best for many obvious reasons, including the ability to have nice-weather open house events where potential buyers can take a nice long look at the property inside and out.

But for a buyer, fall and winter may work better for reasons we will examine below.

Buying a House in Spring or Summer

The weather is better, you can take a comfortable and unhurried look around the property, and the overall experience may be more pleasant.

But there is a lot of competition for homes in the good weather months, and you may find a seller less willing to negotiate on the price of the home or seller concessions early in the season.
But wait until fall, and sellers may be more eager to close a deal.

Buying a House In The Fall

When the summer season ends, home sellers might assume the market is beginning to dry up for the year. But not all house hunters give up once the school season begins anew and the leaves start falling off the trees. Those looking in the fall may find sellers more willing to discuss closing cost concessions, lower prices, etc.

Part of the reason for this? Some sellers are tempted to suspend their listings entirely during the winter, assuming nobody will be house hunting. If a seller plans to take the home off the market in the winter, they may be keen to close the deal if a buyer comes along with the right offer before the cold season.

Buying a House in Winter

As mentioned above, some sellers take their houses off the market for the coldest months of the year. You won’t find as many open houses, the home inspection may be complicated by snow or other issues, and there may be other seasonally-related hassles.

But there are perks, too. Aside from the seller being (potentially) more willing to work with you, it may be easier to schedule services like inspections and appraisals since there is less demand in the winter months.

Some feel the entire process from start to finish is faster, but that may just be an impression. That said, some parts of the experience do move faster in the coldest months due to a simple lack of demand.

Sellers may offer you extras in the wintertime they wouldn’t consider in the summer when there are more competing offers.

It always pays to consider how many others might be trying to buy the property you want, and house hunting in the coldest months may provide you with a more relaxed version of searching for your new home, knowing you aren’t looking in a crowded market just then.

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