Ever since states began easing restrictions on home showings and COVID-related business closures in late spring, the housing market has seen a flurry of homebuyer activity spurred by low interest rates and the collective desire to settle into the perfect home while quarantining.
However, buyers who have held out until now could see the greatest rewards for their patience: the best days of the year to buy a home are Dec. 4 and Jan. 26, when buyers will likely see the best deals, according to an analysis by Attom Data Solutions released Monday.
Attom examined more than 27 million single-family and condo sales over the past seven years, and calculated the premium or discount paid on any given calendar day with at least 10,000 condo or single-family home sales.
Overall, December is the best month to buy, with homebuyers only paying a premium of 1.5 percent above market value on average. Still, both December 4 and January 26 are the optimal dates to purchase a home, when buyers won’t have to pay above market value.
By month, however, November is the second best month to buy a home, according to the analysis. Buyers can expect to pay only 2 percent above market value on average. In contrast, in June, when market competition is often heating up, buyers can expect to pay premiums of 6.9 percent on average.
For the biggest discounts, buyers should shop around in the following states during winter months: Ohio (discounts of 7.4 percent in January); Michigan (discounts of 7.2 percent in February); Delaware (discounts of 6.3 percent in February); Tennessee (discounts of 6.2 percent in January); and New Jersey (discounts of 5.8 percent in December).