Many potential homebuyers I have spoken to have told me they are sitting on the sidelines until the fall or winter. The housing market jumped up tremendously last year, and is up again this year, meaning your dollar isn’t going quite as far as it did two years ago. Generally, as we leave the summer months and head into the fall and winter, we see a small retrace in home values, meaning you can get a little more for your money than you could in the summer.

And while this makes some sense in theory, you also need to consider the available inventory and the appetite of homebuyers. A large part of the reason home values rise in the spring and summer is that buyers start looking, meaning more people are interested in houses. This year, with so many people sitting on the sidelines, there has actually been more homes available for longer periods of time. There will also be more homebuyers looking for a new house in the fall and winter, which will keep prices higher, meaning we may not see a retrace at all.

There is also a lot more inventory now than there will be in a few months. Sellers try to sell when buyers are looking, which means they list their houses now. If you wait to start looking, you will be looking at fewer available houses, meaning you are more likely to settle. When you couple that with the fact that there will still be a large pool of potential buyers, meaning bidding wars and increased prices, it becomes a no-brainer that you need to start looking now. Even if we see a small retrace in a few months, it is generally not worth it to settle for a house which doesn’t meet your needs.

If you are interested in getting the search started to find a new home to get out of your rental, please contact me. If you have anything to add about the current market trends in the housing industry, please leave a comment.