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Looking to Buy a Home? Wait for October.

Submitted by Cheryl Bourland on September 14, 2015 - 1:12pm

October 8th may seem like any other day, but it is actually quite special. RealtyTrac analyzed data from more than 32 million home sales over the last 15 years in order to find when homebuyers saved the most money. They determined that October 8th is the best day of the year to buy a home! This is just one of many interesting statistical findings detailed in the report. Which month is best for selling your home? Do people pay more or less on Friday? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in today's post!

 

 

 

Best and Worst Months to Buy

 

Conventional wisdom states that it is better to buy in the fall and winter months, when prices are reduced. For the most part, RealtyTrac found that this trend proved accurate, with one glaring exception. See if you can spot the oddball from the following list of the five best months to buy a home by average percent paid below market value:

  1. October (2.6% below)
  2. February (2.4% below)
  3. July (2.3% below)
  4. December (2.2% below)
  5. January (2.1% below)

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If you guessed July, then congratulations, you're right! With less daylight, colder weather, and the holiday season in full swing, the fall and winter months are the logical times for finding the best deal when looking to buy a new home. However, few people would have expected a month from the heart of summer to make the list. Maybe it has something to do with all the fireworks?

 

Conversely, the worst month of the year in which to buy (A.K.A. the best in which to sell) was found to be April, when buyers pay an average of 1.2% above full market value for their home. In fact, April was the only month when buyers averaged paying a higher price than market value. Here are the five worst months in which to buy a home:

  1. April (1.2% above)
  2. March (1.2% below)
  3. June (1.3% below)
  4. November (1.5% below)
  5. August (1.6% below)

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Once again, there is an oddball in the group, though this time it is November. Regardless, the overall trend hold true: it is better to sell in the spring and summer.

 

Best Day of the Week to Buy

 

If a month is too broad of a time period for you, then fear not! RealtyTrac also determined which weekday offered the greatest discount to those buying a home. Here they are, in order:

  1. Monday (2.3% below market value)
  2. Friday (2.0% below)
  3. Tuesday (1.9% below)
  4. Wednesday (1.4% below)
  5. Thursday (1.0% below)

 

In this case, it certainly looks like sellers are more willing to give a better deal when they are either tired from starting the week or tired from ending it!

 

Best Day of the Year to Buy

 

To finish things off, let's take a look at the best day of the entire year on which to buy a home (if you're looking for the best deal). RealtyTrac eliminated days with fewer than 50,000 sales over the last 15 years (the average among all days was 88,501), including New Year’s Day, Veteran’s Day, July 4, December 24, 25 and 26, and Leap Day. Of the 356 qualifying days, here are the five best days to buy:

  1. October 8 (10.8% below market value)
  2. November 26 (10.1% below market value)
  3. December 31 (9.7% below market value)
  4. October 22 (9.6% below market value)
  5. October 15 (9.1% below market value).

 

On the other hand, here are the best days to sell:

  1. January 19 (9.6% above market value)
  2. February 16 (9.5% above)
  3. April 20 (9.5% above)
  4. April 6 (8.4% above)
  5. April 27 (8.2% above)

 

Of course, there was significant regional variation in the best time to buy a home. Even so, the pattern of deals in the fall and winter was fairly consistent. Out of the 109 metro areas analyzed in the study, 37 were found to have had their best day to buy in the fall months of September, October and November, whereas 44 had their best day to buy in the winter months of December, January and February. Therefore, 74% of metro areas had their best time to buy in the colder half of the year. RealtyTrac notes a few prominent exceptions, including Seattle (the best day to buy is on April 1, believe it or not), San Diego (Aug. 20), Pittsburgh (March 17), and Cleveland (June 13).

 

Hopefully you enjoyed this interesting peek into the statistics of when to buy or sell a home! As with many things in life, timing is everything! Remember, according to the study, your best bet is to try to buy in October and sell in April.

 

To read the entire report, go to the original article, "The Best Day of the Year to Buy a Home".