Monday, November 20, 2017 / by Meagan Henry
Thinking of Buying a House This Summer? Start During Spring!
It’s barely into March and right now, even with the temperatures rising, summer probably feels so far away. We still have to make it through spring break, Easter, and all the end of the school year craziness before summer comes - and that’s a lot to do! However, if you’re planning on moving across the state or even just selling your home and upgrading to a bigger space somewhere in the Greater Austin Area, waiting until after school's out to get started is waiting too long!
Buying Timeline
When it comes to buying a house, even in an area with so many choices like the Austin area and Williamson County have, the process of shopping around, putting in an offer, and closing on the house is more time consuming than many assume. First and foremost, it can take some time to find just the right home and, let’s face it, you probably don’t want to uproot your family and go through the hassle of moving your entire household for anything less than the perfect new home. Unfortunately, just because you’ve decided to move, that doesn’t mean you’ll find a new home within a week; finding houses for sale that fit your specifications can take some time, especially in the Austin Area's competitive real estate market, so it’s better to give yourself a buffer of time to find the right place.
On top of the time it takes to find the right home, you also have to factor in the time to go through the closing process, which can involve negotiating a price as well as waiting for inspections and any repairs that need to be handled before you move in. The average time from offer to closing when buying a house is 30 to 45 days - but bear in mind that’s just the average timespan and it can, in some instances, take longer. If you wait until June to start your search for new homes, you may not close on a house until August or September, which means you’ll be stuck moving and disrupting your children’s lives only a few weeks into the school year.
Realty Prime Time
Because so many people prefer to disrupt their children’s school routine as little as possible, the unofficial high season for buying a house actually starts in March. If you will be selling your current home as well as buying a house, we generally suggest starting the listing process in February to really make the most of the market. So, if you haven’t listed your home yet, call the Russ Phillips Team as soon as possible to get going! Listing your current home as soon as possible in March means you will catch the upswing in home searches and are likely to get a better price for your home! In addition, that means you’ll be able to close on your current home and finish the process of buying a house just in time to move early in the summer. This way, you have plenty of time to move and get settled before school starts up again!
If you plan on selling and/or buying a house in the greater Austin area this summer, call the Russ Phillips Team to get started today!
