House Hunting in Fall/Winter

I am worried we will never find a house because I feel like there is nothing on the market. DH and I have been casually looking for about 2 months now and I have noticed that listings have not been coming on the market as frequently as they had been a couple of months ago. Is this normal for this time of year? Will it start to pick up soon? We have seen about 30 houses already and haven't put an offer on any. Either houses are way overpriced and are sitting on the market for months or they need a lot of work. Our lease is up in February and I don't want to have to renew if we don't find anything.

What do you think? Thanks!

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

When I was house hunting I remember it slowing down as it got colder out. what area are you looking? my house just went on the market in north merrick.

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

I will be putting my house on the market in the Fall. Let's hope I find a buyer.

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

Just as there are serious buyers there are sellers. Activity does tend to slow down in winter months but people who list now will most likely be realistic sellers if they are willing to have their house on the market through the holidays.

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

Totally agree with Jannette. I think there tends to be more buyer activity in the spring and fall, so those are the times when a lot of sellers choose to put their homes on the market. But there are people who NEED to sell, no matter what time of year (for financial reasons, divorce, job transfers, illness/death, etc.). I've talked to many sellers who put their home on the market in the spring who say they are just testing the market to see if they can get their price.

From a seller's point of view, there is less inventory on the market in the winter months, so less competition! I think that's an advantage of listing during the winter.

But the same holds true for buyers -- less buyers are out there looking, so if you make an offer, a seller may be more willing to work with you/be negotiable.

I don't know that much about the OP's situation, so I hope she will take this in the helpful spirit it is offfered (it is what I would advice my own customer): There is a lot of inventory on the market right now. If ALL of the homes on the market seem to be overpriced, in your view, or need work, maybe that IS the true market. In those areas, perhaps the homes in your budget ARE all fixer uppers, or smaller than you'd like. I am not saying you should settle, but at the same time, if you are really motivated to move, maybe you ought to re-evalutate your expectations in light of the reality of what you are seeing on the market. On the other hand, if the homes are truly overpriced (based on comps in the area), remember that a list price is just a starting point, and some sellers may be motivated and willing to negotiate if you make an offer.

Good luck!

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We looked for 2 years in total. I can tell you that it did slow down some in the fall and winter in the sense that not as many homes were coming on the market, however, we still saw a TON of houses in the winter...probably more than in the summer. The reason was because sellers tend to get scared that they're not going to sell in the winter months, so they end up reducing their prices . We had a drastic increase of homes that reduced into our price range in the winter, so we still had a lot of houses to see during those months.

The serious sellers will still list in the fall and winter. The ones who are just putting their house up to "see what they can get" will not.

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

I think this is the best time of year to buy a house!

I have been selling houses like crazy since labor day (and listing)

good luck

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We found our house in the winter! I still remember the backyard being covered in snow the first time we saw it. Good luck house-hunting!

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We house hunted from November of last year through March of this year. Late December was pretty much a standstill, with the holidays and everything. But then after the new year, there were a bunch of new listings. Snow does make seeing exteriors/walkways/yards difficult, so take that into consideration. I say you look now. Rates are great now, much better than in June when we closed. You should go for it! Good luck!

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We bought our house in the winter. I think people that are really looking, will look all year round. I have heard this time of year it should pick up a little but hasn't. There have been really no new houses in our area for a month or so. It is dead around here.

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We started looking around the same time as you. I looked online for a while before that and many homes came off the market right before we started looking, and then it was fairly quiet until just a week or so ago.

I understand what Christine is saying but I also think it depends on the inventory in the area and how much time you have. There is no way we're settling on the few houses available right now, they're not what we're looking for, and sat all summer while many other houses sold. When I look at the sold properties from the last several months (before we started looking), there were a bunch within our price range that have what we're looking for, which makes me feel that we're not being unrealistic with our expectations. We also are in no rush so we don't mind giving it some time. If we still don't find anything in the next several months, of course some compromise may be called for, but not just yet ;)

Re: House Hunting in Fall/Winter

We found our house in the winter! Things were definitely slow, but the seller was motivated and we are so happy with what we got.