[email protected]   |   (434) 260-1435
2110 Ivy Road   |   Charlottesville, VA 22903
facebook instagram
Story House Real Estate Story House Real Estate
Navigation
  • ABOUT US
    • Who We Are
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Philanthropy
    • Our Success Stories
      • Client Profiles
      • Client Testimonials
      • Press & Recognition
      • Our Sold Homes
    • Story House Blog
    • Newsletters
    • Join Our Team
  • SELL A HOME
    • How We Sell
    • Seller Profile
  • BUY A HOME
    • Buyer Profile
    • Our 10 Step Process
      • Consult Your REALTOR®
      • Arrange Your Financing
      • Find Your Home
      • Prepare a Purchase Offer
      • Contract for Your Home
      • Conduct Inspections
      • Finalize Your Financing
      • Prepare for Settlement
    • Buyer Profile
    • Our Listings
    • New Listings
    • Search All Active Listings
      • Search by County
      • Charlottesville Area Neighborhoods
  • LET’S CONNECT

Now Is The Best Season To Buy a Home

With increasing incidences of unruly shoppers competing over holiday sales, it could well be the best time of the year to be among the exceptionally few buying a big ticket item that both adds value and is long lasting. The big ticket item in this case is a home.  About one million consumers will purchase a home from November to January this year, when home prices are a bit softer.

As you may know, the typical home price tends to rise around 3% to 5% per year. This year in 2015, the gain is a bit stronger at 6% because of the ongoing shortage of inventory in many markets. But the annual price gain does not smoothly and steadily change from one month to the next. There is a clear seasonal pattern of rising prices from the spring home buying season to the end of summer. Then prices mildly retreat. Closings in January provide the best discount for home buyers, meaning that buyers get the best deal when they get the home under contract around December.

The graph below shows the median home price over the past five years. Note the month-to-month price swings that occur nearly every year with home prices retreating over the winter months. The seasonal decline is not all price depreciation of homes. A good portion of movement is driven by a higher proportion of lower priced and smaller-sized homes getting sold during the winter months. The reason for this is that families with school-aged kids are generally not in the market during the winter because they do not want their kids to be disrupted during a school year, and it is the families with kids that generally require the larger homes that carry higher prices. So not all of the decline in home prices in winter is a genuine price depreciation, but is driven partly or largely by the different mix of homes being sold this time of year.

Seasonal home price1

There is another home price measurement that can better delineate true price change from the changes in the mix of homes that are sold. The Case-Shiller price index, of which pair the latter professor won the Nobel Prize in economics, uses something called a repeat-sales price measurement. Briefly, they look at how a given property has changed in value from the first purchase to the second purchase. An algorithm is then applied over all properties sold to reveal a price index over time. Though there are caveats and statistical noise, the Case –Shiller index does a good job of capturing a genuine price change uninfluenced by the type or mix of homes sold at certain time of the year.

Yet even in this price index, one notices mild swings in the data with prices falling over the winter months. Real estate professionals know this to be true in everyday business since there are far fewer buyers shopping over the holidays; as a result, listed homes staying on the market for a longer period. In short, there is a discount to be had for the few buyers purchasing over the holidays.

 

information and full article:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrenceyun/2015/12/02/best-season-to-buy-a-home/


Posted on December 4, 2015

Categories

  • Achievements & Recognition
  • Affordability & Financing
  • Blog
  • Buying
  • Charlottesville Area
  • Charlottesville News
  • Charlottesville Real Estate
  • Choosing a Realtor
  • City of Charlottesville
  • Client Profiles
  • Client Testimonials
  • Community
  • First Time Homebuyer
  • Historic Charlottesville
  • Home Repair & Maintenance
  • Landscaping & Exterior
  • Lifestyle
  • Market Reports
  • National Real Estate
  • New Construction
  • Our Favorite Things
  • Real Estate 101
  • Real Estate News and Info
  • Selling
  • Short Sale & Foreclosure 101
  • Sold Homes
  • Staging to Sell
  • Uncategorized

Contact Us

    Subscribe to Newsletter
    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    View

    Mar 31

    Open
    🌈🌷👒 Happy Friday! April is just around the corner and it SHOWS with this weekend’s lineup of events!

🧺 🍓The Charlottesville City Market is back for its 50th market season, vineyards, breweries, and parks around the area are kicking off their Easter celebrations, and outdoor exercise activities are starting up again!

We’re so excited about this weekend! Do you have anything fun planned?

#localevents #Charlottesvilleevents #Charlottesville #local #weekend #weekendevents #storyhouserealestate #storyhousere
    View

    Mar 30

    Open
    👯‍♀️ As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the wonderful women that we’re lucky to be surrounded by in the Story House family and beyond!

To celebrate the end of such an important and impactful month, some of the amazing ladies on our team are sharing their thoughts on…

✨ What they love most about what they do

AND

✨ Who they’re inspired by

How has your Women’s History Month been?

#StoryHouseRE #StoryHouseRealEstate #WomensHistoryMonth #womenownedbusiness #Charlottesville
    View

    Mar 30

    Open
    JUST LISTED | THREE NEW HOMES 🏡

🏠 20063 Tabernacle Road, Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 | MLS#639952 | $250,000 | 🛏️ 3 bed 🛁 1 bath | 🎉 OPEN HOUSE Sunday, April 2nd from 1 PM - 3 PM, hosted by Errin!

🏠 710 Walker Square, Unit 4D, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 | MLS#639890 | $300,000 | 🛏️ 1 bed 🛁 1 bath | 🎉 OPEN HOUSE Sunday, April 2nd from 12 PM - 2 PM, hosted by Virgil!

🏠 925 Dorchester Place, #304, Charlottesville, Virginia 22911 | MLS#639895 | $300,000 | 🛏️ 2 bed 🛁 2 bath | 🎉 OPEN HOUSE Sunday, April 2nd from 2 PM - 4 PM, hosted by Brentney!

📩 Email showings@storyhouseRE.com with questions! Showings begin by appointment on Friday, March 31st.

#justlisted #Charlottesvillerealestate #StoryHouseRealEstate #StoryHouseRE #startyournextstory #Charlottesville #startyourstorywithus #newlisting
    View

    Mar 30

    Open
    🗳 It’s that time of year again! 🗳

We’re so honored and excited to have been nominated for Best Real Estate Company alongside our fearless leader Sasha Tripp, who was nominated for Best Residential Realtor in the Daily Progress Readers’ Choice 2023 Contest!

We cannot be more grateful to any and all of our clients and friends who nominated us! Now that the top 5 in each category have been selected, voting officially begins!

TWO WAYS TO VOTE:
🌐 Online:
Click the top link in our bio
Scroll to the "Home Favorites" category
Select Story House Real Estate as the Best Real Estate Company AND
Sasha Tripp as Best Residental Realtor!

📱 Text:
Create a text to the phone number 434-732-2757
To vote for Story House, you simply text “687” and send
To vote for Sasha, you simply text "114" and send

Voting begins TODAY March 29 and continues until April 19th with the opportunity to vote EVERY DAY. Thank you for always supporting us! ❤️

#dailyprogress #readerschoice #bestrealestatecompany #Charlottesvillerealestate #StoryHouseRE #StoryHouseRealEstate
    View

    Mar 29

    Open
    📢 🤩  Have you heard?? Brentney is taking over our social media stories for the day! Check out what a day in Brentney’s life looks like by clicking our profile! 

#dayinthelife #StoryHouseDayInTheLife #charlottesvilleva #realestate #buyahome #sellahome #realtor #storyhouse #storyhousere #storyhouserealestate #startyourstory #soldbystoryhouse #yournextchapter #realestate
    Story House Real Estate logo
    STORY HOUSE REAL ESTATE
    2110 Ivy Road
    Charlottesville, VA 22903
    Phone: (434) 260-1435
    facebook instagram
    LICENSED TO SELL REAL ESTATE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
    REALTOR icon Equal Housing icon
    © 2021 Story House Real Estate. All Rights Reserved.