The decision to buy a house should not be taken lightly in terms of personal finances. It should always be considered and approached with prior planning and budgeting.
Recently, interest in buying a house has increased dramatically, as well as the interest in renovations, either full or partial, in areas such as the kitchen or bathroom, or in modifications such as installing laminate or cutting parquet. The savings caused by the pandemic have boosted consumer demand.
The best month to buy a house
The National Institute of Statistics (INE) released data showing an emerging trend to buy houses in certain months of the year. Thus, in 2019, there were 3 important peaks in house sales and purchases: January, May and July, with the first month of the year being the busiest in the real estate sector, both in the case of new and secondary housing.
These numbers are very similar to those of 2020, when house sales in the country peaked in January, followed by May and July. In contrast, the worst months in both periods were March and December.
Following this trend, we can say that the best month to buy an apartment or house is January.
But is this pattern always true? If you make a quarterly calculation, you can see that the first month of the year is the time when the largest sales in the sector occur. In fact, many real estate agencies are taking advantage of this period to bring down prices.
However, most of the sales take place at the end of the year: January is the month when housing supply is lower, which reveals good buying opportunities.
In addition, since most apartments and houses are put up for sale in spring, 9 months later many owners want to get rid of the property, offering better prices and more favorable conditions for buyers.
By the same token, many believe that buying a property early in the year has some tax advantages. Many of these benefits are regional, so it is important to find out what the situation is where you live.
As a result of the pandemic, 2021 was a good time to buy, but not a good time to sell real estate. The situation is expected to change as soon as the market stabilizes.
In addition to considering the best time for buyers, consider what is the best time for you. Selling an apartment takes a lot of time and planning. Perhaps it makes sense to plan a vacation at the time of buying a new house in order to devote yourself entirely to the issue.
While the above rules are basic and somewhat general, don't take them literally. You can buy or sell an apartment at any time of the year, although there are certain months that are considered more profitable for real estate transactions.