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Best time to buy a house is when everything comes together for you;
The right house, location, funding, convenience.
For people with kids, it's convenient to move in the summer, so realtors often advise sellers to list then.
But in snowbird areas like Hawaii or Arizona, winter brings a lot of buyers.
In every area, people sell when they have to, and may wind up selling for less in the off season.
I am currently renting an apartment and my lease ends on Nov 15th. A mortgage lender has advised me and created a sense of urgency that I should buy a house NOW in the spring time because that's when the "best" houses pop up on the market. He said that by the time school starts, the housing market is full of leftovers that no one wanted to buy, and so I'll be stuck with not-so-good options.
However, if I am to break my lease, it would cost me a fee of two months of rent, which would amount to $2,028! I was hoping to simply wait until Sep/Oct to buy a house (or condo) because it's close to the expiration of my lease and I wouldn't have to pay the $2K in fees. I would rather use that $2K toward the down payment on the house!
I have some doubts about what the mortgage lender guy told me though. Is it true that by September, the housing market is full of crappy leftover homes?? I thought maybe I could get a good deal at that time because school would have begun and there would be less competition with other buyers and maybe some sellers would be willing to cave in price a bit. Maybe??
I'm also expecting a potential pay raise and bonus in May. That would help my affordability and budget.
My budget would be up to $230K here in Jacksonville. But if I get the raise and bonus, then I could probably comfortably go up to $250K.
What should I do?
Absolutely not, there are plenty of homes just going up on the market come late Summer into the fall especially in Florida where that time of the year becomes another selling time for snowbirds. Don't listen to the mortgage guy, he just wants that commission now. Also, if the market is slower buyer wise, you stand to benefit price wise. Some people target when to sell but most sell when they need to not by season. If you get a transfer in August you aren't going to wait until March to sell your house, you will probably put it on the market in September.
The market is busiest in the mid spring, and houses tend to bring the best prices right around April. The best time to get a bargain is in summer, and between Thanksgiving and New Year's. The reason is that people want to move right after the kids finish school. If the house hasn't sold in the spring, by July and August sellers are getting desperate, drop the price. Also, if people haven't sold by mid fall, the market is DEAD during the holidays, and sellers get desperate, so are willing to accept lower prices.
That is absolutely not true in Florida, which is where the OP is. The weather is pretty good and a lot of the purchasers are empty nesters/retirees who don’t care about whether their kids are in school. They want a winter property and have no interest in buying a property starting in spring. I have a few family members who started out as snowbirds, and one has a single family home and one has a condo. Neither of them are going to start out in the spring when they have to pay for a time of year they don’t want to use. I lived in the OP’s area before and did some hiking meetups and while there might not be as many snowbirds as there are in SW/SE Florida, there were certainly a decent number.
We bought it March. House went up in October the year before with a 40k in price drop by next year in March. I put a offer a week after the major price drop.
Worry more about finding a house that works as far as location/size/amenitiesoutd appearance, the prices, rates and your ability to qualify. One thing I learned is there will always be the house for sale around the corner and there is no perfect house.
Your lender just wants you to get the loan. He could care less what house you buy
Yeah I've decided to just wait until the time is convenient and right for me, which is to purchase in September, just two months prior to my lease expiration. That should allow enough time for a closing and to make the move. And if that timeline fails, I can continue leasing month to month after Nov 15. Also, I am allowed to wait all the way up until Nov 15 to discontinue the lease or renew month to month.
In the meantime, I will continue to save money over the next 6 months, which will help my affordability for a home. And I'm expecting a pay raise and bonus in May, and possibly even a promotion. It sucks to have to wait 8 more months to move, but I suppose it's not THAT bad of a wait.
Yeah I've decided to just wait until the time is convenient and right for me, which is to purchase in September, just two months prior to my lease expiration. That should allow enough time for a closing and to make the move. And if that timeline fails, I can continue leasing month to month after Nov 15. Also, I am allowed to wait all the way up until Nov 15 to discontinue the lease or renew month to month.
In the meantime, I will continue to save money over the next 6 months, which will help my affordability for a home. And I'm expecting a pay raise and bonus in May, and possibly even a promotion. It sucks to have to wait 8 more months to move, but I suppose it's not THAT bad of a wait.
I would start looking anyway. We looked for 4 years. But I wasn’t interested n compromising what we wanted. If I just wanted a house there were plenty I could of bought. But we wanted certain things
I am currently renting an apartment and my lease ends on Nov 15th. A mortgage lender has advised me and created a sense of urgency that I should buy a house NOW in the spring time because that's when the "best" houses pop up on the market. He said that by the time school starts, the housing market is full of leftovers that no one wanted to buy, and so I'll be stuck with not-so-good options.
However, if I am to break my lease, it would cost me a fee of two months of rent, which would amount to $2,028! I was hoping to simply wait until Sep/Oct to buy a house (or condo) because it's close to the expiration of my lease and I wouldn't have to pay the $2K in fees. I would rather use that $2K toward the down payment on the house!
I have some doubts about what the mortgage lender guy told me though. Is it true that by September, the housing market is full of crappy leftover homes?? I thought maybe I could get a good deal at that time because school would have begun and there would be less competition with other buyers and maybe some sellers would be willing to cave in price a bit. Maybe??
I'm also expecting a potential pay raise and bonus in May. That would help my affordability and budget.
My budget would be up to $230K here in Jacksonville. But if I get the raise and bonus, then I could probably comfortably go up to $250K.
What should I do?
You can buy a house any time that you want. The last person whose advice you should take is a real estate broker hungry for an immediate commission.
At certain times of year, there are more houses on the market, but there are also more buyers for you to compete against. At other times, there are fewer houses on the market and also fewer buyers, so you have a better shot at a good deal when a good house comes on the market.
I would wait until you are comfortable rather than jump the gun.
I am currently renting an apartment and my lease ends on Nov 15th. A mortgage lender has advised me and created a sense of urgency that I should buy a house NOW in the spring time because that's when the "best" houses pop up on the market. He said that by the time school starts, the housing market is full of leftovers that no one wanted to buy, and so I'll be stuck with not-so-good options.
However, if I am to break my lease, it would cost me a fee of two months of rent, which would amount to $2,028! I was hoping to simply wait until Sep/Oct to buy a house (or condo) because it's close to the expiration of my lease and I wouldn't have to pay the $2K in fees. I would rather use that $2K toward the down payment on the house!
I have some doubts about what the mortgage lender guy told me though. Is it true that by September, the housing market is full of crappy leftover homes?? I thought maybe I could get a good deal at that time because school would have begun and there would be less competition with other buyers and maybe some sellers would be willing to cave in price a bit. Maybe??
I'm also expecting a potential pay raise and bonus in May. That would help my affordability and budget.
My budget would be up to $230K here in Jacksonville. But if I get the raise and bonus, then I could probably comfortably go up to $250K.
What should I do?
OP, I mean this in a constructive way: you need to do much more research on real estate and personal finance before buying a house. Your questions show that you're out of your depth.
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