What month are house prices lowest?

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If you’re in the market for a new home, you may want to time your purchase to certain months on the calendar. Research has found that would-be buyers pay a greater premium—that is a price more above market value—in spring and summer months.

The best time to buy a house? Fall and early winter.

A new analysis suggests that “buyers who close on their home in October will get the best deal compared to the spring buying season.” During the first full month of fall, buyers can expect to pay a 3.3% premium.

May is the worst month for finding a deal, with a premium of 10.5% over market value, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions, which analyzed more than 39 million single-family home and condo sales over the last nine years.

“Apparently the old adage ‘Spring forward and fall back’ applies not only to setting your clocks, but to home prices as well,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “Seasonality has always had an impact on home prices, which tend to weaken in the fall and winter months when there’s less buying activity.”

“Savvy homebuyers can take advantage of those lower prices and less competition from other buyers once the leaves start to turn,” Sharga added.

Best Time of Year to Buy a House

ATTOM found that October is when buyers typically get the best prices on real estate after it analyzed home sales between 2013 and 2021.

The amount buyers spend over the median value of a home, as determined by an automated valuation model, according to the report, is an average of 3.3% in October, and 3.7% in both November and December.

Best Month to Buy a House

Those times may not seem intuitive, but they make sense. The housing market tends to be a lot more active in the spring and summer than in the winter. Many people want to get settled in a new home before the school year begins in the fall. Even if they don’t, they usually need to take advantage of the increased level of listings from sellers who do.

That means the colder months can be a great time to house-hunt. There’s far less competition, and many listings may have been on the market for a while, meaning sellers may be more motivated to make a deal.

The Best Months to Buy a House Ranked

The Best Days to Buy a House

Despite October’s overall discounts, the best single days of the year to buy still fall after Thanksgiving through the early days of the new year, according to ATTOM: Nov. 28 (1.1% premium), Jan. 9 (1.3%), Dec. 5 and 26 (1.5%) and Dec. 19 (1.9%).

The Worst Days to Buy a House

The housing market ordinarily speeds up around spring and chugs along into summer. Kids are out of school and people have time to shop around. Many families try to buy a home between May and August.

All of this translates into a lot of buyers competing for the same houses, which drives up prices and leads to more expensive real estate.

The worst days for buying, according to ATTOM’s analysis, are all in May: the 20th, 23rd and 27th all have premiums above 15%.

Steps to Buying a House

Now that you know the seasonal patterns for house-hunting, here’s a refresher on the best steps to take to get ready to buy:

1. Assess how much debt you have, if any, and pay off anything you can. Then, check up on your credit profile to make sure there are not any errors.
2. Take a look at your existing budget, and consider how it will change if you owned a home: will you have repair and maintenance costs? Property taxes?
3. Figure out how much money you have for a down payment, and be prepared to document any money you get as gifts.
4. Consider meeting with mortgage professionals—either lenders or mortgage brokers—or get preapproved on your own.
5. Decide what kind of home you want, and where you want to live.
6. Start keeping track of mortgage rates, which can fluctuate frequently.

Is it a Good Time to Buy a House?

When Forbes Advisor summarized an earlier ATTOM report, buyers could expect to pay market value on some select days in the year, rather than a premium. Now, even with rising mortgage rates, demand still remains relatively hot, at least at the time the report was released in October 2022.

While existing home sales dropped month-to-month throughout much of 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors, home prices continued to climb as housing supply remained limited. Some experts see a housing market correction on the horizon.

“What we’re going through right now is a healthy adjustment in the housing market,” says Ali Wolf, chief economist for Zonda, a housing market research and analytics company.

Wolf has been watching several different housing-market metrics grind back to 2019 levels. “This is a return to normal where a lot of the froth has been taken out. Supply and demand are still out of whack, but they’re coming closer to balance.”

ATTOM’s Sharga, agrees. “There’s a possibility that some of the homebuying trends that were driven—or at least accelerated—by the pandemic might be tapering off or even reversing themselves,” he says.

“A ‘return to normal’ for the housing market probably isn’t in the cards just yet. But as sales volume declines with prices likely to follow suit, the market should at least begin to feel like it’s heading in that direction in 2023.”

What Homebuyers Should Do to Get the Best Price

Covid impacted nearly every aspect of our lives over the past two years, but one thing hasn’t changed: cost-conscious homebuyers will have to work hard to find deals.

Zonda data suggest there are some bargains, particularly in areas that got so hot during the pandemic that they may have become “a victim of their own success,” in Wolf’s words: Phoenix, Austin, Boise and Salt Lake City are a few.

Whether you’re interested in those areas or others, find a real estate agent who knows the area well, understands your goals and is willing to hustle during the hectic holiday season. This is key. If they’re distracted by the holidays, then you’re at a disadvantage. You want to find someone who is on the hunt for a house with you, regardless of the date.

Next, get your paperwork in order. This includes having a mortgage preapproval letter ready and your down payment lined up so that you can act fast if a house in your price window pops up.

Finally, be prepared for a sudden open house or private tour opportunity. Don’t put off viewing a new listing, otherwise someone else might scoop it up. If it hasn’t been listed and you have a chance to view it, this could be a golden opportunity to make an offer before anyone else sees it.

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