Minneapolis, MN: People buy homes all year around, but especially in colder climates, home sales numbers falls in the fall and winter months, then picks up dramatically in the spring.

Fall and Winter are great times to buy a home.

While coming out of hiding inside from the winter, and feeling the itch to buy a home in the spring is common, it might be better to actually buy a home in the fall or winter.

Fall and Winter Buyer Advantages

There are more homes on the market in the spring, but there is also a lot more competition for those homes. Also, many buyers stop looking this time of year because of the holidays, and not wanting to move schools mid-year for the kids, so there is less competition.

Homes that came on in the spring and summer, but didn't sell (typically because they were over priced), now have more motivated sellers. They are sick of having the home on the market, and freak out thinking they can never sell once winter hits (wrong).

People who need to sell fear winter, and tend to price a bit on the lower end of the value, and tend to ask for pie in the sky prices in the spring.

While total listing are lower in the fall and winter, with the typical drop in listings being around 20% lower than in the spring, this still leave a lot of homes to look at. In the Minneapolis / St Paul metro area that I am in, if there are 28,000 listing in May, that means there are still 22,400 listing in October. Pretty sure you can still find something you like.

This is all great news for those looking to buy a home, especially first time home buyers who do not have a home to sell. So do not be afraid to look at homes in the fall or winter months. You just might end up with a great deal on that perfect dream home.

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Joe Metzler is a Senior Mortgage Loan Officer for Minnesota based Mortgages Unlimited. He was named the 2014 Minnesota Loan Officer of the Year, and Top 300 Loan Officers in the Nation for 2010, 2015, 2016. He provides Home Mortgage Loans in MN, WI, and SD. He can be reached at (651) 552-3681. NMLS 274132.