Basically I told him to quit screwing around, put his coat on and get out in the market NOW.

Here is my take on buying a home in the winter months, and why it is almost always CHEAPER to buy in the 4th quarter.

You can often find a MUCH better deal “AS A BUYER” during November, December and January than you can during any other time of the year.

HERE ARE 3 REASONS WHY:

1. Most buyers that you may have been competing with during the summer months have “gone into hibernation” they are focused on the holiday’s and family time. Believe it or not many would rather stay home, shop or cook on the weekend rather than hustle and look for a good deal on a home. Less competition means more negotiating power for YOU.

2. Most but not all sellers who choose to put their home on the market in the winter are highly MOTIVATED OR DESPERATE to sell the home.

3. FEWER CHANCES THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE OFFERS ON THE HOME YOU WANT: Another reason that winter can be such a buyer’s market for real estate is that the fewer number of buyers competing for homes means that the chances of there being multiple offers on a single property are greatly reduced. This again translates to buyers having the upper hand over sellers in the negotiations.

SO AT THE END OF THE DAY the pickings may be slim in regards to inventory, and all the super nice turnkey houses may be off market…

But… You can get some nice discounts with less headache and less competition if you forget about shopping, holidays and snowboarding and get out there in the market while everyone else is “hibernating”

PLEASANT HILL REAL ESTATE MARKET

CONCORD REAL ESTATE DATA

LAFAYETTE REAL ESTATE MARKET

WALNUT CREEK REAL ESTATE DECEMBER