Is Home Buying Seasonal in St. Louis?

I was looking at some trends in search as real estate websites are usually based off of keywords.  You often hear that real estate sales are cyclical, and I know this to be true.  What I didn’t realize is that the actions people take, in this case search, is really correlated to what I see every year in the marketplace.  Is home buying seasonal in St. Louis?

Do Charts Lie?

Take a look at the chart below.  The google trends search is for homes for sale.  The chart is over five years.  Can you see the distinct 5 dips?  What time frame do you think that would be?  It’s actually about the second week in December.  Every year!

Home Buying Peak

If we follow the chart to the high points in the cycle, those sort of happen twice each year.  One period of time is this little bump about the first of April, and then a high usually around the 2^nd of July.

If Home Buying Were Perfect

Confronted with the information from the graph, is there any way we can figure out when the best time to buy would be?  Well, if there’s a house you like and you don’t have to sell, the second week of December looks like a perfect time to buy.  I’ve experienced this in our brokerage many times.  If you are looking for the best time of the year to sell, right around the last week in June would be the best time to list your home for sale according to the chart.

What Are Some Of The Possible Reasons For The Seasonal Swings?

Well, according to Ryan Boykin at Investopedia, fewer people want to move over the holidays.  There’s no question that keeps a lot of homes from being sold. Besides Santa,  do you really want strangers going through your house over Christmas?  There are two other reasons I can think of for a slow selling season during the winter.

1. Weather isn’t conducive to moving.
2. Kids are in the middle of the school year

Deerwood Realty For Any Season

You have an advantage working with Deerwood Realty.  If you are considering buying your dream home, or are ready to list your home for sale,  Give us a call.  As we get to know our clients, we work together in the marketplace to find opportunities even out of season.