The turn of the calendar to a new year often brings fresh optimism and motivation to achieve goals. If buying a new home in St. Louis is on your resolution list for 2024, there are compelling reasons to start your search now instead of waiting for the busy spring and summer markets. January and February can be the ideal time to find and purchase a great home in St. Louis at an advantageous price.

Less Competition Among Buyers

While the St. Louis real estate market stays relatively active year-round, the number of active buyers tends to dip after the holidays. With fewer buyers vying for available homes during winter months, you’re likely to face less bidding competition once you find a home you love. Less competition from other homebuyers puts you in a stronger negotiating position with home sellers, enabling you to make an attractive offer that gives you the best chance of getting a deal on your dream home.

Better Pricing

Along with less competition, January and February offer more negotiation power when it comes to home pricing. Sellers are often more motivated during this off-season period and may be willing to lower prices to attract serious buyers. With the leverage on your side during winter months, you’ll encounter more room to negotiate key items like the home purchase price, contingencies, included fixtures, and more.

Incentives and Discounts

Some sellers offer incentives like credits toward closing costs or home upgrades to attract buyers during the winter season. Even if the seller has not directly offered any such incentives, consider asking for them as part of your negotiation strategy. And if you’re looking for new construction specifically, you may also find that home builders are willing to offer price reductions on last year’s model homes that they’re eager to sell off early in the year before the busy season begins again.

Avoid the Spring Rush

While more moderate weather brings more buyers out during spring, that season also creates a rushed and competitive market. By starting your home search now, you’ll get ahead of that hectic curve. Making an offer during winter months allows more time for inspections, financing, and closing before you want to move in when winter ends. Avoiding the frenzy of the spring market leads to less stress and uncertainty as you finalize all details of this major purchase.

Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage Now

Meeting with lenders over the next couple months allows you to get fully pre-approved for financing and understand your budget for a new home. With a pre-approval letter in hand during your winter home search, sellers will know you are a serious buyer fully prepared to move forward, making them more open to negotiating a satisfactory deal with you.

Buying a new home at the start of the new year lets you make a strategic move before demand from competing buyers soars during the spring and summer market rush. As a result, you can make your purchase with more power to negotiate and less pressure. Partner with a trusted local mortgage professional and a knowledgeable real estate agent to start the rewarding process of finding your ideal new home in the St. Louis area today!


If you’d like to get pre-approved for a mortgage, you can do that here. We would also be happy to recommend some experienced, local Realtors to help you in the homebuying process. Just reach out to us — you can find all of our contact information at https://www.frontierhomemortgage.com/contact-us/