When is the best time to buy or sell real estate? This is often the question at the top of both first-time buyers and seasoned investors’ minds, but the answer is less about waiting for the perfect market conditions and more about making the market work for your situation. If you feel ready to make your real estate investment move but aren’t sure if this fall is the best time, first ask yourself the question if this fall is the right time for your goals—if it is, then do not hesitate and instead work with the conditions the market has presented you with. There are certain unique perks to capitalize on when buying in the upcoming months. Read on for the advantages of investing in real estate during the autumn season.
1. Off-Season Pricing
Typically, autumn is the beginning of the yearly market slowdown. More buyers and sellers tend to make their real estate moves in the spring and summer season. You can use this to your advantage and enter a market with less competition and more power to negotiate. As opposed to hot markets where buyers are forced to compete in bidding wars that can significantly raise the price from its original listing price, with fewer buyers interested in a property you have more leverage to ask for a lower price. Plus, you have more time to make an informed decision, without the pressure of losing out on a property to another buyer potentially causing you to rush into a purchase you don’t feel one hundred percent sold on.
2. Tax Advantages
There can be tax benefits to purchasing in the fall rather than waiting until spring of next year (which many buyers consider doing). There are year-end returns to be had from purchasing in autumn, so reach out to your financial advisor on how you can best maximize your purchase so that you can get the most out of deductible benefits associated with owning the property when tax season rolls around.
3. Holiday Season Rental Income
Although the real estate market slows down during the end-of-year/holiday season, the rental market certainly does not. With many folks taking vacations and more and more people opting for rentals over hotels, purchasing in fall gives you time to ready your property for an incredibly lucrative time of year to list it as a vacation property. Consider towns where tourists would want to travel during the holidays, whether it’s somewhere with close access to a ski resort or a sunny destination for those fleeing the snowy weather. If you do plan on renting out your home by the end of this year, also keep in mind any repairs, renovations, or decorating that will need to be completed before it's ready to host visitors. It may be a bit of a time crunch, but could pay off greatly!
4. Investment Strategies
When searching the market for your desired property, keep in mind that autumn weather in many parts of the country creates a few more barriers to carrying out repairs and renovations. However, you can use this to your advantage when negotiating price discounts for various issues found during inspections. If you’re hoping to rent out the property sooner rather than later, consider that similarly to how the real estate market slows during the holiday season, so does the
long-term rental market. So perhaps you can explore renting it out to short-term vacationers in the meantime while you search for a long-term tenant if that is your end goal.