Five Reasons Why Summer Is the Best Time to Buy a Home

Is summer the best time to buy a home? It’s no secret that the market heats up when the weather does. However, some buyers shy away from sunshine browsing because they assume that a hot market means high prices. This article covers the top five reasons why it’s a good idea to buy in the summer.

Bigger Inventory

Most sellers time market entry with the end of the school year. Like buyers, sellers are often eager to get to their new destinations before the start of the new school year. This is one of the reasons why listings explode starting in April and May. Additionally, sellers want to move while the weather is warm in order to be fully settled in their homes by the time the holidays roll around.

This isn’t just anecdotal. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has been tracking seasonality in the housing market since 1999. According to the NAR, the number of sales begins to increase significantly in the spring. In anticipation of summer moves, sales activity begins to creep up beginning in March. The NAR tracks an average increase in home sales of 34% for March. That steep increase is actually just the beginning.

“The busiest home selling months are May, June, July and August,” according to the NAR. This four-month period accounts for 40% of total annual sales volume. While all four months are hot for buyers and sellers, June is typically the peak month for selling activity.

Unsurprisingly, the NAR’s data shows that the slowest months of selling activity are November, December, January, and February. January is typically the slowest month of the year. While December is slow because people are often too caught up in the holidays to plan big moves, the sluggishness of January and February is due to the fact that many buyers are too tapped out from holiday spending to focus on taking on another major expense.

Interestingly, the NAR finds that even buyers without kids prefer to move in the summer. This is especially true of renters who prefer to take advantage of nice weather when buying their first homes.

“Dog Day” Deals

If homes have lingered through spring and summer without being sold, owners get antsy. That’s why the middle and later parts of summer are great for negotiating better deals. Buyers who have been hesitant to put in high offers often swoop in to snatch properties that would have been unobtainable in April or May. The lesson is that buyers who are patient enough to stick it out until the end of summer often get some of the best deals of the year while still getting into their new homes before the holidays!

The Ability to See a Property in Its Full Glory

In many parts of the country, shopping for homes during fall and winter can be depressing. Homes and properties can look gray while the landscaping is dormant. While seeing the “winter version” of a property can be important, the best way to judge a home is to see it while everything is blooming!

Touring homes during summer allows buyers to see the potential of gardens and landscaping. They can also get a better idea of the health and condition of a home’s green spaces. The summer landscape lets buyers evaluate the level of outdoor maintenance or repairs that will be needed. In parts of the country that routinely experience prolonged snow coverage, it can be impossible to properly inspect yards, decks, and patios during winter.

More Hours for House Hunting

Finding a home can feel like wedging a full-time job between your existing full-time job and life responsibilities. The longer hours of the summer provide more time for house hunting at the end of the day. During the winter, after-work tours of homes make it hard to get a good look in the dark. The buyer won’t see the way that light flows into the home during the day. It may also be impossible to take a proper yard tour. That means that the buyer just needs to hope that nobody else makes an offer before they can come back to take a look at the house on a weekend. Summer provides roughly five extra hours per day for viewing houses in full light!

Instant Satisfaction

When people buy homes in the fall or winter, it may be six to eight months before they actually get to enjoy all of their new home’s features. A summertime closing means you get to begin enjoying a lawn, porch, patio, or swimming pool from the first day. It’s also easier to get a jump on home improvements during the summer instead of putting projects on hold all winter.

The Bottom Line

We can’t always control when we need to buy a home. We also shouldn’t force a scenario just because we’re feeling pressured to buy by a certain date on the calendar. However, a person with the flexibility to start searching whenever they want should definitely take advantage of the summer market’s momentum to find their match.