Buying a home is undeniably the biggest purchase of your life.
If you have already put a lot of thought into the decision and settled on Houston, it’s a great pick. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. With a promising economy, famous parks, museums, restaurants, and the best theatre, it’s a dream destination for you and your family. Now, all you need to do is find the best time to buy a home in Houston.
However, we believe that you can’t pinpoint a year or a month without weighing in several factors. The right time for your home buying is when you are prepared and aware of your options.
The following factors will play a significant role in your home buying decision. Make sure you don’t ignore them.
Take A Look At Your Finances
For buying a home, you must ensure that your finances are in order. Having a steady income is the first prerequisite for buying a home. Roughly speaking, your annual salary should be three times more than the price of the home you’re buying.
Your savings must be hefty because you’ll need to pay the down payment for the house. Most of the time, it’s 20% of the total mortgage. Let’s say the total house cost is $400,000, then the down payment will be $80,000.
The next thing is a good credit score. If your credit score is higher, you can expect a better interest rate for your mortgage. Even if it’s only 10 points, you can benefit a lot in the long run as you’ll be paying the mortgage in 20 to 30 years.
Last but not least, pay off your car and credit card loans and become debt free. Having zero debt allows you to pay for your home more freely and a better Debt-To-Income means you can secure a lower interest rate for your mortgage.
If you’ve checked all these boxes and you’re mentally ready to move forward with the purchase, we say go ahead and start looking for your home.
Do Mortgage Research
Shopping for a home requires you to look around for the mortgage rates and market volatility. You’ll come across mortgage rates by loan amount, credit scores, down payment amount, and interest rates. Eventually, you’ll also learn that all these variables largely depend on how well the national economy is doing.
This is where you can make use of your research and start looking for the best homes when the prices are in your favor.
With higher inflation rates, you can expect higher mortgage rates because that’s the only way lenders can make more profit.
Growth in the economy also translates into more buying power. In such instances, lenders take advantage of consumers/home buyers spending more and raise their mortgage rates.
All these economic factors should be on your mind while buying a home in Houston.
Local Real Estate Is Growing
With more jobs and a growing economy in Houston, The Houston Association of Realtors asserted that house sales in Houston went up by 12% in the year 2021. In fact, the city issued almost fifty thousand permits for single-family home constructions in 2021. Although it means that there are more homes to choose from, it also means that prices are going up and the best time for you to buy a home in Houston might not be when the market is slow but right now.
Best Time to Buy; Seasonality Is Crucial
Spring is a favorite time for home buying. With schools all set to close for summer break, families have more time to plan and visit homes for buying. However, sellers are also aware of the fact and with a lot of options available, you can expect to see competition in the market. So, naturally, you have to make a move faster or another buyer will succeed in making a better offer.
Prices do go down in the summer and by the start of fall, you can expect even lower rates but the problem is, by then, the houses available will not be the ones you are looking for.
Act Now
Sometimes waiting for the right time only means delaying. Once you have assessed your options, analyzed the market and understand what you are looking for, don’t wait to make an offer. No waiting is worth missing your dream home.
So, choose wisely and choose now. If you are looking for home listings in Houston, you can view our handpicked properties by clicking the link below
