It’s time for you to buy a new home, now what? There are so many things to consider when you picture your dream home, but people rarely think about the time of year to buy. Here are four reasons that you should consider shopping for a new home in the summer months.
- Warmer Weather
Perhaps the easiest selling point of buying a home in the summer: moving day should be warm! We’ve seen people move in the dead of winter and trust us, it’s not fun. Having to bundle up and trudge through the snow, only to come back in sweating and with dirty boots. Summer moving might be hot but at least the ground is dry, the roads are clear and no extra layer of clothing is needed brave the outdoors.
- Settled before September
Summer is a great time to settle into a new place because the city moves just a little bit slower. So many people leave town for holidays, school is out and there are lots of events happening around the city that disrupt the regular rush hour traffic patterns. It will allow you time to get to know the area, where the closest grocery store is and what pharmacy is open until midnight in case you need emergency Pepto-Bismol.
If you have a family, summer moves are ideal because the kids are free to help you pack and they don’t need to take any days off. You will have time to figure out their new route to school and you will have time to unpack all of their belongings so that they will be ready for their big first day back. Summer moves with kids are guaranteed to be less stressful.
- More options
For the reasons above and so many more, people do like to move in warmer weather so there are a ton of houses on the market during the summer months. This is great for so many reasons. High inventory means competitive prices; it also means more options to choose from. You can search for your dream home and then bargain for a lower price based on a similar model that is cheaper on the market. Who wouldn’t want more options when deciding where they want to live for the next 10 years?
- Prices aren’t necessarily higher
People tend to think that housing prices go up in the summer due to all the perks to moving between April and September; however, The Star says that Calgary is seeing the number of housing sales drop even though the number of listings are rising. It is a buyers’ market here in Calgary, so everyone is preaching search for your dream home, negotiate the price and ‘buy, buy, buy.’
If you can get your current home sale ready in time for summer, do it. Start looking for your dream house as soon as you can so that you are aware of the options and the price ranges available on the market. If you’re lucky, the timelines for home sale and home purchase might even line up since others are trying to do the same thing!
