If you're thinking of buying a home in the next few months, you may want to consider expediting that process.
According to Realtor.com's annual Best Time to Buy a Home report for 2022, the best week to buy a home in the United States is from September 25 to October 1. Yes, that's very soon.
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Realtor.com crunched a few numbers, including listing prices, inventory levels, and homebuyer demand to rank each week of the year in terms of how favorable it is for homebuyers. It turns out this year's ideal week begins in just 11 days.
According to the study, buyers making a purchase during the week of September 25 can expect to save more than $20,000 on average compared to buyers making a purchase during the summer. Plus, there will be approximately 46% more homes on the market as compared to the average week to date.
"If you're flexible on your timing and can budget for higher rates, early fall can be a great time to secure a home, with a number of factors aligning to make it the best time of the year both in terms of price and competition," Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. "This is especially true for first-time buyers and others who are not trying to sell a home at the same time as their purchase."
But if you're not ready to buy right away, don't worry — it's likely that the trend will continue in the years to come.
In 2018 and 2019, the first two years that Realtor.com issued this annual report, the weeks of September 27 and October 3, respectively, were rated the best time to buy.
In 2020, however, the chaos of the pandemic flipped the housing market upside down, as buyers rushed to make purchases. Early fall became the worst time to buy a home that year.
"After several years of an overheated housing market, higher mortgage rates are helping usher in more regular seasonal trends, which have pros and cons for home shoppers," said Hale.
On the positive side, market regularity, including increased inventory, is beneficial to homebuyers. On the negative side, mortgage rates have gone up.
Despite the week of September 25 being the best time to buy, that doesn't mean you can't find a good deal at other times of the year. But if you're in the midst of house hunting right now, keep at it! Your dream purchase might be just around the corner.