December 26th is the best day of the year to buy a home

Wednesday is the best day of the year to buy a home. Yes today, December 26th. You’re probably wondering why.

“You’d get one to five percent off,” Mertello Baird of HomeSmart Realty explained.

Many people are motivated to buy and sell right before the new year for tax reasons.

“You still have people who…maybe they’ve had their house listed for 30, 60, 90 days, and now they’ve gotten through Christmas and the day after they’re like I want this gone because I want something new when I get my taxes back in January,” Baird said.

After homes have been on the market a while, people are more willing to drop their asking price. Too high a price being the number one impact on sales, according to Baird.

“There’s only one reason, ever, that a house does not sell and it’s over pricing,” Baird said. “Honestly, I don’t care if that house is beat to death or it’s Taj Mahal, if it’s overpriced it’s tough to sell.”

But maybe the new interest rate hikes are what have kept your mind off buying a new home.

“I guarantee that that probably really scared a lot of people. I don’t think people should be afraid,” Baird explained. “If somebody is interested in buying now is absolutely the time, that interest rate is not going to effect, really anybody at this point.”

So even with lower inventories in the winter months, the market is still hot.

“Anywhere between $130-200,000 is a hot market, and there’s not a lot of houses out there.”

So now could be your time, if you’re willing to test the waters.

“You can’t catch a fish unless you put your hook in the water and that’s the way I feel about the houses on the market,” He said. “Put the hook in the water. If you’ve got to move in the cold, get the neighbors to help ya.”