Danielle
November 13 2017

So, when is the best time of the year to buy a house?  

Spring and summer, when inventory is at  its peak?  Fall, when the market starts slowing down and sellers are getting desperate?  Or winter, when inventory is at its lowest?

While the peak time of spring and summer may bring more choices when new home shopping, this time of the year also brings cut-throat multiple offer situations, which ultimately result in more over-asking sale prices.  Great for the seller, not so much the buyer.

No matter if it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, year after year the numbers have proven that the off season (December through March) is a buyer’s opportunity to snag the best deal.  Let’s look at the numbers in St. Louis, specifically West County area in the $200K-500K price range.

This past summer once again was primarily a seller’s market.  The average days on market was 30, with an average selling price of $332,181.  The median days on market was a whopping 9 days.

Now, let’s look at the past year’s winter months.  The average days on market was 45, average selling price of $323,472, and the median days on market was 24.

What does this all mean?  

Houses sold for an average of 3% less than they did in the peak season, and they were on the market 33% longer on average.

How does this benefit the buyer?

 The longer a house sits on the market, the more likely a seller is to be flexible in the price.  This is evident in the fact that homes were on the market 33% longer and sold for 3% less than they did during the spring and summer months.  3% off the sales price can save a ton of money for a buyer - that $500,000 house is now only costing you $485,000.  I don’t know about you, but I could sure use an extra $15,000 in my pocket.

Call me - let’s start looking at some homes!