Don’t get SPOOKED, it’s a BOO-tiful time to buy a house!

Although traditionally, the housing market heats up in the spring and continues to sizzle through the summer months there is no reason to be afraid of the fall season to buy your new home!

There are many reasons summer is a peak time, including more favorable weather and the school year. However, if you’re able to choose when you buy your next home, spring and summer may not be the only best times to buy.

Here is one frightfully excellent reason to choose to move forward with a purchase this season:

According to an analysis from NerdWallet, sale prices peak in June and July then begin falling in autumn. NerdWallet analyzed the past two years of listings and sales in the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas using data from Realtor.com.

It is important to note however, that they went by the actual sale prices, not what a home was listed for. The available data showed listing prices dropped less than half a percent in fall but sale prices during the same time frame fell by nearly 3% from late October into November.

That’s like paying $8,300 less on a median-priced home and there isn’t anything scary about that kind of savings!  In fact, if you can wait even longer, winter may be the season that offers the best savings of all!

Precisely because fall and winter see fewer buyers active in the market, which reduces the competitive landscape caused by our suppressed inventory levels, it leaves more room for negotiating a better price.

If you’ve been concerned about venturing into the real estate market up until now, but you really want to own your own home, this is a boo-tiful time of year to make your move!

Realtor.com chief economist, Jonathan Smoke, says buying is best the later in the year you wait. “If your circumstances give you the freedom to be able to choose the best time to look to sign a contract on a new home, there’s no question that the market dynamics favor you the most to do that in the dead of winter, ideally in January or February, right before the activity starts to heat up,” Smoke said.

Nothing spooky about that advice, so contact your local RE/MAX Alliance Associate to narrow your search down to the perfect home for your holiday festivities to occur this year.