You don’t have to wait until the spring to buy a home

I woke up yesterday to an internet meme that showed a vertically split panel; on one side was Bette Midler, mouth wide in presumed excitement, captured from her role in Hocus Pocus; on the other, a similar pose showing Will Ferrell in Elf. On the left it was captioned “OCT 31” and on the right, “NOV 1.” (It’s actually a little optimistic in the let’s-not-get-carried-away department: I saw lit-up Christmas trees on display at Lowe’s weeks ago.)

So begins the long lead-up to another frenzied holiday season, when parking lots fill up and housing starts slip down. If you’re one of the thousands who signed house deals over the fairer seasons, congratulations. May you enjoy your first holiday season in your new home to the fullest. But there are a number of you wistfully staring at the builders’ ads on Newinhomes.com right now, wishing you’d been in a better position to make it happen sooner, and feeling like you’re now forced to wait until spring to buy a home.

But there’s good news. Winter, particularly a harsh one (which it’s rumoured we’re in for), can help level out an unbalanced sellers’ market. It won’t level the field entirely, but buying a home when you can barely bring yourself to go outside can be to your advantage. Although listings may be more scarce there are also some solid reasons to sell in the winter, so you’ll still have lots of options.

That spring is one of the best times for real estate is one of those self-perpetuating myths: everybody thinks it’s true so they make it true. The upside for buyers is that winter sellers are motivated. If they weren’t they’d list in spring, right? They may be under time pressure, like a job change, financial pressure, or dealing with one of those life-altering events that don’t stick to a schedule.

That means a price dip for houses — in pretty much every market, even those whose seasons are virtually indistinguishable, like Los Angeles or San Diego. We humans are so suggestible! And before you bring it up, only about a third of homebuyers are affected by the timing of the school year.

According to a 2011 survey by Royal LePage, while a harsh winter can mean a short-term price drop, there’s no evidence that weather affects home prices in the longer term. That could mean, if you’re flexible and willing to double your stress with two moves, you could even buy around the holidays, when both pickings and competition are at their slimmest, and sell within the year, taking advantage of the fairer weather to show the place to its ultimate advantage.

Compromising on size, style or even location in the short term can make a lot of sense when you don’t have to compromise your budget by getting embroiled in a bidding war. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and find your forever home. On a cold, wet day, you’re going to see the property at its worst. If you can still imagine living there, you’ll know it’s not just infatuation.

If you haven’t considered the new construction market because it seems like the building process just takes too long, remember that builders can build in snow; for some trades, rain is a problem, but snow generally isn’t. You may find things happen more quickly than you expect over the winter months. And remember that buying now doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be schlepping a sofa in February — move-ins may be scheduled for spring or summer. You can take advantage of slower sales offices, where you can take more of the representatives’ time and attention, but move when the weather’s better.

May I be the first to say happy holiday house hunting to you and yours!