When is the right time to begin your Real Estate Journey in 2023?

Real Estates sales eb and flow based on many factors like available homes on the market, interest rates, home pricing, and the season. The season and timing of a move can be one of the most important factors when buyers and sellers are considering a new home. Everyone’s situation will be different, but most buyers and sellers tend to like to move in the summer months and school is out of session. A common question I get is when does the summer market truly start and when is the best time to buy or sell a house? The title of this article is a bit of a giveaway that the market has already started heating up here in South Charlotte, and there are multiple factors contributing to this including the time of year. 

Believe it or not, Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl are two of the largest calendar events that kick off our spring real estate market. After the end of the year Holidays buyers and sellers tend to start discussing their plans for a move in the new calendar year. This typically is the beginning of the life cycle as you as either a buyer or seller begin looking at home prospects. Typically after beginning the search you start looking at budgeting, interest rates, and affordability to determine your price range and hopefully, get a loan prequalification from a licensed and qualified lender. Beyond the pre-approval you start thinking about timing and considering things like schools, leases, and the weather as factors into when is the best time to make a move. It’s been my experience that the spring market tends to always kick off the weeks surrounding the Super Bowl and Valentines Day, which just so happens to be this week! 

Holidays aside, the weather around this time of year tends to start shifting away from bitter cold and rain and gets a bit warmer and milder. If you’ve been outside like I have you also know that the spring blooms are already starting and pollen season is officially beginning.  This begins the reminder that summer is just around the corner, and the summer is undoubtedly our hottest market for real estate. 

As we are now entering the second week of February, we are beginning to see the real estate market heat up. The FED has pulled back on their interest rate hikes and we’re seeing mortgage rates becoming more affordable, although still higher than this time last year. Although we’ll likely continue seeing higher interest rates over the rest of the year, home affordability is improving. Available inventory is starting to drop and homes that were on the market 45-75 days are going under contract. New inventory is only slowly coming available, and some listings are receiving multiple offers.

Early data indicates that we’re likely heading to a strong spring real estate market and buyers and sellers need to be well prepared to time out their moves. If inventory remains low and the FED keeps the rates relatively flat, we could see the end of this short-lived buyers’ market. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home this year, I would love to speak with you about how I can help make that happen. As always, I can be reached directly at 980-250-2795.  

Check out my latest client testimonial! “My wife and I were delighted with the service we received from our Briggs American broker, Matt Lawson. He handled both our sell and buy transactions with complete professionalism and integrity and allowed us to achieve excellent results. The marketing effort he put together for our property was exceptional. We know we weren’t his only clients but the responses we received made us feel like we were.” M. Edwards

Matt Lawson, MBA is the Owner and Broker in Charge of Briggs American Homes, a real estate team at REAL Broker, LLC. Matt lives and operates his business right here in Waxhaw, NC and is passionate about all things Real Estate.