What is the best month to buy or sell a property?
As you may have noticed, sales in the residential market fluctuate throughout the year. Several people acquire their property in spring and summer, while the fall and winter months are known for their low level of activity.
What many ignore, however, is that prices are also subject to seasonal variations, certainly less significant than those affecting the number of sales, but still real. The analysis of the sales collected by JLR has made it possible to highlight certain months when prices jump and others where prices tend to fall. Thus, certain times of the year are more advantageous for buyers and others for sellers. Sales for the past ten years have been used to establish monthly trends.
What is the change in property prices during the year?
While prices are high during the most popular months for sale, they generally decrease during the months when the market slows. In the past ten years, on average, the median price for single-family homes peaked in June with a price 4.5% higher than the median price in September, the month when prices are generally at their lowest. The difference is more than $ 8,000.
According to the results, the period from May to August would be particularly advantageous for sellers, since the prices are higher and the sales more numerous. For these four months, on average, the median price of the past ten years has exceeded $ 186,000.
For buyers, prices are more favorable in September and October. During these two months, the average median price for the past ten years has not exceeded $ 181,000.
The link between sales and price
The monthly fluctuations in the number of sales and median prices follow similar trends, as shown in the following graph.
When the number of potential buyers decreases, sellers may begin to fear that they will not quickly purchase their property in Zoom Property. As a result, they may be more inclined to negotiate the price of their home down, which may explain the relatively low median price during this time of year.
The single family home market is a seasonal market in which spring and summer are the most popular periods. During the strong season, the market is to the advantage of the sellers, since demand is high, which drives up prices. If you are a buyer, it will be easier for you to negotiate a lower price in the fall, when demand decreases.
So when the demand for single-family homes is high, the amount of sales rises, as does the price paid. This stronger demand, particularly in June, is probably partly due to the milder weather which makes moving easier. In addition, the Quebec tradition is to complete the majority of leases on June 30; thus, several tenants are trying to move shortly before this date.
Moving in the summer is also interesting for households with young children, in order to avoid the problems caused by a move during the school year. This may also explain the large drop in the median price in September.
In the fall or to a lesser extent in the winter, demand seems to weaken given the disadvantages of moving at this time of the year. The reduction in the pool of potential buyers during this period leads to a decrease in sales.
