A few months ago, back in December of 2012, I wrote about how it was the best time to buy a home* (and it turns out that I was more right than I thought!).
Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t give enough fair warning and it was hard to actually find a suitable property to purchase in such short notice.
So today I’m giving you fair warning:
The next best time to buy a home at a great price is coming up
If you look at the graph below, you will see that the curve of Sold Median Prices always has a dip in October of each year. And remember that these sold prices are usually reflected about 30-45 days after a home went under contract.
- That means that most of the homes reported sold in October went under contract sometime in September.
Fairfax County Real Estate Median Sold Prices (last 5 years)
Therefore, September is a great month to buy a home.
September is a great month to buy a home because:
One good reason is that it is easier to negotiate the price. Partly because many of these homes have been on the market through the summer and owners are now willing to negotiate on their list price.
Also, because there are less buyers bidding for the homes so there isn’t as much competition for them, which helps with your negotiation.
Another good reason why September is a great month to buy
Another good reason is that inventory is still high, so there are plenty of homes to choose from.
This is in contrast to the Winter months when the prices are at their lowest, but there is also not a lot of inventory to choose from.
The good news is that September still has many of those homes that were listed late in the Spring season, went through the Summer months, and now we have accumulated to a nice range of choices.
Here’s an example of higher inventory
For example, I constantly monitor certain neighborhoods that offer great housing options. One of them is the Greenbriar subdivision in Fairfax (in the Chantilly HS Boundary)
Last December there were only about 3-5 homes active on the market at a time.
Through the Spring, pretty much any home that was listed in Greenbriar got sold within days, so there was almost no inventory. But, slowly, as the Summer has rolled in, there are now a good 10 homes waiting for a savvy buyer to make an offer.
Available homes in the Greenbriar subdivision
Greenbriar, Fairfax 22033 Active Homes in July 2013
But wait, there’s more!
Of course, these are not the only homes available. If you have a favorite boundary in mind, make sure to log into the Fairfax County Map of School Boundaries and consider the available homes.
If you start monitoring the market now, you’ll be in a great position to buy a great home come September. (You can monitor the market by creating an automatic email that sends you property updates that meet your criteria.)
- Remember that September is a great month for buying a great home – and at a good price too!
* Here’s the article that I wrote in December of 2012 about it being a great time to buy a home: Fairfax County Real Estate – When is the best time to buy ?
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Data from MRIS, Graph from RBIntel
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Great article, Marina!