The most affordable time of year to buy a home has always been winter.

Traditionally, buying in winter can save you big dollars. A NerdWallet study found evidence to support winter as the most affordable time of year.

Key Takeaways For Affordable Times In Previous Years

• Summer is typically the most expensive time to buy. In the majority of metro areas analyzed, home sale prices peak in June and July. Inventory is also highest those months, but so is competition.
• Sale prices fall in autumn. Home listing prices don’t fall dramatically once summer ends — they only decrease less than half a percent in the fall. But sale prices take a noticeable dip. In the 50 metro areas, home sale prices dropped 2.96% on average — that’s a drop of $8,300 on the median home — from summer (June through August) to fall (September through November).
• Home sale prices are usually lowest in winter. If you can wait a little longer to buy, hold off until January or February, when homes cost 8.45% less on average than in June through August. January had the cheapest sale prices in 29 of the 50 metro areas, and February had the cheapest prices in 19 areas.

But will the most affordable time of year continue to be winter? Earlier this year, I was asked on Tuned-In Realtor when you should put your house back on the market. Based on what I have seen, the answer is IMMEDIATELY! Why? Because with low inventory, getting your house on market sooner can mean more money.

Winter 2022 Still Might Be Pricier Than Previous Winters

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales fell in December 2021, denoting two straight months of declines. The real estate market slowing down at the end of the year is not unusual. What *is* unusual is the reason why:

"Pending home sales faded toward the end of 2021, as a diminished housing supply offered consumers very few options. Mortgage rates have climbed steadily the last several weeks, which unfortunately will ultimately push aside marginal buyers."

Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist

With inventory still being low, prices could be higher. It’s simple supply and demand. I took on this topic last week on Tuned-In Realtor. The house across the street from mine held open houses throughout the fall. No one came. Like NOBODY. But in their first open house of 2022, it was wall-to-wall people for three straight hours. So while the most affordable time of year to buy a home is winter, at the very least, it might end up being pricier than previous winters.

NAR projects that existing-home sales are expected to decline by 2.8% in 2022, and home prices are expected to move higher by 5.1% due to the ongoing housing shortage, even as builders ramp up production.

Could Summer 2022 Be A More Affordable Time Of Year Than Winter?

As supply chain issues continue to subside, new homes will be finished. Will those new homes cut into the inventory shortage? If so, will that lead to lower prices in spring and summer than winter?

It is likely that the most affordable time of year to buy will remain the winter months. But 2022 could be an odd year.