If you’re on the hunt for what the best day of the year to buy a home is, today could be your lucky day.
Toronto brokerage TheRedPin.com says it crunched the numbers and determined that buyers looking to buy the right home at the best price of the year are most likely to succeed early in the new year and January 19 is the best day to day to make a deal.
“The numbers once again show that January is by far the cheapest month to buy, and the gap keeps widening,” says Rokham Fard, co-founder and CMO of TheRedPin.com. “The largest month-to-month price increase occurs between January and February, with average costs (in the Greater Toronto Area) increasing $31,166 from the first to second month of the year. Is waiting a couple of weeks worth over $30,000?”
While inventory tends to be lower in January, so too are prices and competition, says the brokerage. Traditionally prospective buyers play it safe and wait for the spring real estate blitz to make a move. But Fard says buyers willing to face winter weather are rewarded with better prices and can likely avoid bidding wars.
TheRedPin.com’s research says there are a number of strong reasons for buying on this day:
- Sellers choosing to list in January, rather than wait it out until the more lucrative spring, are generally doing so out of need, not want. This fact gives buyers leverage in the negotiating process.
- The average cost of a home bought in January in the GTA is $43,000 less than the average home price in a calendar year and almost $60,749 less than the average cost of a home bought in May, the most expensive month.
- The brokerage says salespeople generally agree – and historical data confirms – that Tuesdays are the best day of the week to make an offer on a property. Most listings go off the market on Tuesdays (as a result of being sold) so there is a higher average of accepted offers on that day of the week.
- Cold weather, slushy streets and holiday debt mean that big purchases are not generally on most people’s radar in January. Those willing to don a parka can spare themselves the trouble of much-hated bidding wars. This year weather has been mostly mild in Toronto so slushy streets may not even be a factor at this point.
- On average, homes take 38 per cent longer to sell in January than during the peak spring season (29 days vs. 18 days). Purchasers can take some time to make a decision, rather than rush the process for fear of losing out to other buyers.
- With interest rates stagnant for years, many have been biding their time on buying a home. But the increase in rates in the U.S. might signal an upcoming change in Canada’s rates, says the brokerage, a signal that may spur prospective buyers into action earlier than previously planned.
TheRedPin.com reviewed over 530,000 home sales across the GTA from 2010-2015, with December 2015 data assuming a conservative four-per-cent year-over-year price gain.
