Finding Your Way Through Fall Real Estate

The spring and summer reign supreme as the best market for real estate, but the upcoming season has its own advantages as well. With cooler temperatures and an undersaturated market, fall may be the best time to put a home on the market or even better for buying.

If you are considering buying or selling during the fall market, see below for some great tips on how to navigate your way through this time of year in real estate.

It’s going to be more of a buyer’s market. Most buyers are searching in early spring in order to be in a home and settled for a new school year, so the competition drops significantly after the end of summer. If you are in no hurry to move, this is the best time to search for a home in peace. However, there are some families who are having to choose the fall market even with the pressure of school beginning for various reasons, so you’ll want to make sure you have your ducks in a row to make an offer and close quickly. One way to do this is to have your financing options up front, such as using a hard money lender and a bridge loan to get you out of your old home and into a new home quickly.

It’s the best time to sell a vacation home. If you are putting a prime vacation home on the market, the fall is going to be best. The season will not be as busy, and buyers will want to be closed and have it ready for the next summer season. Spend a little time towards the end of the summer doing small renovations or putting on a fresh coat of paint in order to make your vacation home seem like the dream relaxation spot for buyers.

It will be an inexpensive time to furnish a new home. When moving into a new space, you may find that the old furniture or appliances are just not going to work in the new area. If you are looking to buy all new furnishings for your home, fall is going to be a great time for sales. Labor day weekend is a huge shopping weekend, so everyone will be throwing sales in order to get as much business as possible. Now is the time to purchase things like new carpets or paint, and lawn care supplies as they won’t be in such high demand during the fall.

It’s a safer season for your home. Peak burglary season (yes, there is one!) is spring or summer when people are gone for extended periods of time on vacations. When scoping out a neighborhood during the fall, you’ll be able to learn about the safety of the neighborhood from the peak crime season right before or take the time to make safety precautions such as an alarm system.