Should Winter Be The Best Time To Buy A Home?
It’s late December and freezing outside. I’m also freezing inside. It’s 2010. My brother and I are renting a bungalow in Brentwood on Capri Avenue in NW Calgary.
It’s so cold outside the interior walls of our home had frost seeping into the drywall around our electrical outlets. Our heating bills were over $240 dollars in some months! I remember wondering if the people who buy this house will know how terrible (non-existent) the insulation is in this home??
Everyone knows it. Spring is the “busy” season for Real Estate transactions. So what is it about spring that draws people out of the Real Estate woodwork? Why isn’t winter a busier Real Estate season? Let’s consider the pro’s and con’s of buying in the winter versus the spring.
Isn’t it true that winter offers a smaller pool of homebuyers to compete against? With less competing buyers, and more competition between listings, I think buyers definitely have an advantage.
There are home listings that sit stagnant during the winter months, facing the cold reality of looming price reductions. This leaves sellers and Realtors begging for an offer on the table, which might produce a very motivated home seller.
Buyers need to understand, in the absence of anything else creative, a seller’s number one tool to attract homebuyers is price reductions.
A hidden bonus of buying a home in the winter is finding out the quality of insulation. Living in Canada, facing sub-zero temperatures for the majority of the year, I think it is beneficial to know this about a home before finding out myself.
Purchasing a home in the winter does have its drawbacks though: the time of year, snow covered homes/yards and the reality of actually moving residences.
Winter typically involves people vacationing over Christmas, traveling to see family or simply unwinding from a busy year. Not ideal for home shopping (online or physically).
Buyers like to know what they’re getting in a home too. This includes seeing the roof and yard; both of which could be covered with snow during winter months.
Being surprised by a derelict yard when the snow melts could cost thousands of dollars to repair/build out and be at the expense of every single prime weekend the coming summer. Plus, I think people like to see homes and yards come to life when considering a purchase (which isn’t happening on December 21st ).
Let’s say you did purchase a home during winter months (and many do). Now when do you plan on taking possession of it? Moving your family through a winter month is certainly possible, but might not be ideal. Plus, people moving with families interrupt their children’s school year (again, not ideal). So what is it about spring that motivates more Real Estate activity?
Spring equals life, fresh beginnings, time for change, and an awakening from a winter slumber. The sight of budding trees, green grass and the freshness of life also romanticize buyers into the spring purchase frenzy. And in Real Estate, this couldn’t be truer. Spring brings eager buyers; new listings and an invigorated market.
Buyer competition heats up as more buyers enter the Real Estate wild like a rustling Grizzly bear awakens from deep winter hibernation.
Listing prices creep up as sellers try and maximize their profits. Buyers are goaded into multiple offer bidding wars, as possession dates are conveniently around the end of the school year for most families.
A savvy Real Estate participant might recognize these seasonal trends and exploit them, despite inconvenience. Experienced Real Estate participants might also recognize a much larger, longer seasonal Real Estate trend happening right now?
Do you know anyone who is thinking about purchasing a home this winter or spring? If so, connect them with this blog post and put them in touch with me. If you are ever talking Real Estate with your friends, family or co-workers, please do not keep my services a secret.
