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Old 10-13-2014, 02:47 AM
 
271 posts, read 424,401 times
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it looks like home prices are going down in my area (bellevue/redmond). i am guessing b/c it's fall/winter season? b/c a few months ago prices were going way up.
would it make sense for us to buy in the winter even though we wouldn't move until the summer? b/c it looks like prices are down about $15-20K. so i'm thinking if we bought in jan or feb and started paying mortgage from then, we'd still save money than waiting for the summer when the prices go up again. plus it would give us time to remodel or do anything else we need to do before moving in.
Thoughts?

Last edited by joyinthejourney; 10-13-2014 at 02:58 AM..
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Old 10-13-2014, 08:39 AM
 
Location: El Dorado Hills, CA
3,720 posts, read 9,951,396 times
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If you can swing the extra cost, and IF you find just the right house at a price you feel is really good - why not? But remember, while prices are typically lower in winter than spring/summer there is not a guarantee that this year, in your city, you will get a better price now than in summer.

We are finding prices softening just a bit with higher inventory than we've seen in 2 years. Right now would be a great time to buy, in my market.
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Old 10-13-2014, 09:48 AM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,523 posts, read 13,894,869 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NinaN View Post
If you can swing the extra cost, and IF you find just the right house at a price you feel is really good - why not? But remember, while prices are typically lower in winter than spring/summer there is not a guarantee that this year, in your city, you will get a better price now than in summer.

We are finding prices softening just a bit with higher inventory than we've seen in 2 years. Right now would be a great time to buy, in my market.
I am seeing the same thing as Nina. Prices often shift slightly here from season-to-season. However, the driving force behind the current pricing trend seems to be more that there is an increased amount of inventory in the market. After two entire years of prices shooting though the roof and bidding wars on almost every house, homeowners finally caught on that it might be a good market and more of them started listing their house. This of course put an end to many of the bidding wars as buyers now have more to choose from. Now prices are rising but at a much slower pace.

If come Spring there is even more to choose from than prices will likely be even better. Of course, many of the pundits are predicting higher mortgage rates. In the end, the best time to buy is really whenever you feel you are ready to move. Financial advisors will tell you market timing is a strategy with a low rate of success and I tell my clients the same thing.
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Old 10-13-2014, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,665 posts, read 29,540,339 times
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Default Winter is good

How to optimize your house purchase.

1. Cold weather state.
2. Divorced couple own it.
3. She gets all the proceeds.
4. He gets to pay the utility bills until sold.
5. Make an offer the day before Thanksgiving.

Win for me (in 1977).
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Old 10-13-2014, 03:04 PM
 
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hmm an offer before thanksgiving. that's interesting. but we don't want to start paying until march or april at the earliest.

so once you make an offer and it's accepted, when do you actually start paying the mortgage? we're locked into an apartment til next summer.
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Old 10-13-2014, 03:17 PM
 
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Make sure that it really is a seasonal issue and not a market correction that continues to correct downwards even in the spring.
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Old 10-13-2014, 03:19 PM
 
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how can i tell the difference?
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Old 10-13-2014, 03:23 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joyinthejourney View Post
how can i tell the difference?
Are there public notices of major employers conducting lay offs, military down sizing, anything that effects employment negitivly will result in market corrections. Is there political upheaval related to the economy? Did some section 8 housing or HFH just get built near by?

Just look up the news on the internet for the area and drive around the greater area, you will know if there is sect 8 housing or if undesirables have starting moving in.

It also depends on how diverse your local economy is, will the displaced people who were laid off be able to find new jobs down the street or will they be leaving state? Some local markets are very elastic and some are not.
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Old 10-13-2014, 04:37 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joyinthejourney View Post
hmm an offer before thanksgiving. that's interesting. but we don't want to start paying until march or april at the earliest.

so once you make an offer and it's accepted, when do you actually start paying the mortgage? we're locked into an apartment til next summer.


I'm assuming this is a universal truth, but...

Your first mortgage payment is due after you own the house for 30 days. (Mortgage is paid in arrears.) So, if you close on May 15th, your first mortgage payment is due July 1st. That first mortgage payment would be for the month of June. Your closing costs would include the balance of May's payment.
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Old 10-13-2014, 05:28 PM
 
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sorry for my ignorance but if we close on May 15th, we own the place and can move in and start paying on May 15th?
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