Why Autumn is a good time to buy a house

Today I would like to offer up a good reason that frustrated buyers may find the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel as the fall season approaches.

During the summer months, most real estate markets enjoy a surge in sales activity. Many home buyers are families with children and the idea of moving in between school years is very attractive. It also does not hurt us locally that we have fabulous summer weather with which to enjoy touring homes. In any market the law of supply and demand is ever present. The summer months are yielding more buyers and thus the market experiences buyer pressure. If that sales pressure is not alleviated by increased supply (listings) then prices will nudge or even surge upward. We have seen this effect locally and around the nation this summer.

As our summer comes to a close many buyers have left the market. These buyers may only be out temporarily to get the family adjusted for the new school year or perhaps they feel that next year will be better for them to buy. Of course some of those buyers became purchasers. For the patient buyers this could be a small but significant bonanza. Those buyers that have left the market represent a relief of sales pressure. My experience has been that more buyers tend to leave the market in the fall than sellers. This creates an opportunity to buy that may not have been available in the height of the summer sales madness.

Current Listing in the Felida area of Vancouver $274,900 

Some of the run up in price is caused by multiple offers becoming an auction like frenzy driving up the price. Sometimes its less exciting than that, but houses seemed difficult to find this summer. The autumn tends to soften that just a touch and that could be the edge a buyer needs to get the house they want at a price they can live with.

Buyers should not be discouraged as the cooler days of fall settle in. Rates have settled down a bit and still remain very low by historical standards. The Fed is indicating they will be backing off the support of these low rates as the year closes. This could be the opportunity some buyers have been waiting for to own the home they have always wanted. The window could close in the next few months as interests rise and buyers become panic prone bidders. Call your favorite Realtor® today and happy hunting.