Buying Land or Real Estate? What Time of Year is Best?

In the past, most people tended to purchase land and real estate in the spring or summer. Each season has its pros and cons, but in the end, the best time to buy depends on your situation and specific needs. Having a basic understanding of traditional seasonal advantages and disadvantages when it comes to buying your property may help make sense of why certain times have been considered good and bad to buy.

Seasonal Buying - The Good and Bad

In the spring, there tends to be fewer buyers, especially early in the season. Snow or inclement weather has eased, making it easier to both access and fully visualize the property. There may be slightly fewer choices, however, before the typical summer inventory peak.

During the summer, there are usually more properties on the market, with peak months being June, July, and August. It is easiest to access and enjoy weather-wise, but a downside is that there is a lot more competition with other buyers also taking advantage of the season.

Fall is still a great time to see a property and consider buying land, as it is moving toward the more traditional off-season but properties show well and the weather usually holds fairly well. There may be less inventory, however.

Winter has less competition with potential buyers of property by quite a bit, and it’s a great time to make an investment. Inventory is usually at the lowest point, however, and poor weather can make getting to and around properties more difficult, as well as any potential snow cover.

The Best Time of Year May Be All Year

Times they are a changin’, and the selling season for property and land now is all year. In the current real estate market, buyers have a lot more flexibility to shop year round on the Internet, no matter the weather, time of year, or property location. When it comes to buying and selling vacant land, the Internet now dominates the real estate search and is a critical part of every potential landowner’s research. Buyers of lots and land are very different from home buyers, so customs and strategies that apply to selling homes do not necessarily apply to selling vacant land. Unimproved land buyers do not have the same timing and lifestyle needs as someone moving into a new home, so seasonal factors are not always applicable. Selling vacant land does not involve open houses, cleaning up bedrooms for showings or other such intrusions on the seller’s personal life or family time, so they can be available not only all year, but at pretty much all times during the year. The fall and winter seasons may actually be a perfect time to buy and sell vacant lot and land properties because buyers will want to research and buy property then to be ready for the spring homebuilding, planting, vacation, and recreation seasons.

Any time is a good time to buy land! Let Hurdle Land & Realty help you find the perfect property at the perfect time.