Changing Times in Real Estate: Home buying in the spring

Buying a home during a spring frenzy can be difficult. Every time you make an offer, somebody else beats you to it. Spring might be the best time to buy a home but, since many homebuyers feel the same way, competition for the most desirable homes can be stiff. To increase your chances of buying the home you want, it’s important to have a strategy that will give you an edge when many other buyers are in the market.

The normal spring home-buying season for most of America is typically April, May, and June because many Americans take vacations during July and August. In warmer climates, spring home buying starts in January and runs through May. In northern cities, spring home buying begins as soon as the snow melts and lasts deeper into the summer.

Some years, that doesn’t leave much more than about a month of spring home buying. I am sure glad we are not located in those areas! Our weather is for sure one of the many positives that increases our demand and desirability.

If you're like most people and try to buy a home in April, you'll have to be ready to jump on the home you want. Don't be indecisive or try to sleep on it. When you find "the one," make an offer and follow some key tips to be successful with that offer.

When you are moving to a new town or community, spend a few weekends there before the home-buying season starts and get to know the area. Talk to people in the street and at restaurants. Visit several real estate offices and interview local real estate agents. Use the internet to do research. Drive the neighborhoods you like the best at different times of the day and on different days of the week.

Hire a neighborhood specialist. All real estate is local, and an agent who specializes in the area where you want to buy will be a source of valuable information for you. If that agent is well known and respected among the area’s listing agents, that familiarity will be another plus for you.

Gathering community insight and learning the activities, churches, organizations and demographic makeup will help you to know if a neighborhood and community is right for you. Get pre-approved by a local lender. A preapproval letter from a local bank, credit union, or other mortgage broker gives you an advantage over buyers with approvals from online or out-of-area lenders.

Focus on the house, not the owner. Don't get all hung up on whether the home is a foreclosure, a short sale, or owned by a traditional seller. Concentrate on location and look for homes that meet your basic requirements.

Focus on how much the home is worth and less on what the seller is asking, even if that means paying list price – or more. Ask your agent to show you a comparative market analysis (CMA) of comparable sales to determine actual value. You can't compare values by other homes on the market because sellers can ask whatever they want.

If you are getting the home you want at a price you can afford, whether you pay $1,000 more or less makes no difference in the overall scheme of things. You won't care in five years. Give sellers something other buyers will not. There are many terms contained in the purchase contract, and negotiation is not always all about price.

Sometimes you will just know when a home is right for you, the home that you see yourself and your family making memories in, having holiday gatherings, barbecues and hosting parties and much more for years to come!

All of us at the Ken Follis and Sharon Robinson Group are area specialists, and we are proud of the community we live in. We would love to share our community with you and are always available to answer any questions you may have about our area and our market.

We can be reached at our downtown office at 100 N. Main Ave., or just give us a call or send a text or email: Ken Follis, 760-803-6235 or [email protected] – Sharon Robinson, 949-295-1161 or [email protected] or visit kenfollisandsharonrobinsongroup.com.

We are always available and ‘At Your Service!’