October 25, 2013
Reiss on Buying a Home
MainStreet.com interviewed me in Guess the Unexpected Best Time to Buy a Home. It reads in part,
Hunting for a new home during the holidays can have many hidden advantages for buyers, despite conventional wisdom.
While there is less inventory to choose from in the fall, house hunting in November and December also means there is less competition with other buyers out there. Sellers might also be willing to strike a better deal for potential home owners.
Home buyers can take advantage of sellers who are eager to sell. The end of the year is a great time to look above your price range and negotiate for a lower price, said Alison Bernstein, president of The Suburban Jungle Realty Group.
“Sellers want to clear inventory before the spring and will be open to price adjustments to make the sale,” she said.
Consumers can find the best prices after Thanksgiving and before the Super Bowl because most home owners do not want to wait until the winter months when the bulk of potential buyers disappear, Bernstein said.
Seeing a home during the winter months shows both the house and the neighborhood in its “true colors,” she said.
Many sellers could also have tax reasons to sell by the end of the year, said David Reiss, a professor at the Brooklyn Law School who teaches a course that covers residential real estate transactions. However, this could prove to be a double-edged sword for buyers.
It might motivate sellers to get a deal done quickly and to compromise easily on price or other terms. On the other hand, sellers may insist on draconian penalties if the buyer fails to close by the end of the year, he said.
“Buyers must tread very carefully in such circumstances, be confident that their lender will come through by the drop dead date and certain that they will not be held liable for the delays caused by others, such as sellers themselves or escrow agents,” Reiss said.
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