You and your family go back and forth about when to make the decision and buy a house. With uncertainty about your financial wherewithal, housing “wish list,” and everything a move encompasses, you question when the best time to move really is.

In the content below, we discuss the best time of year to buy a house as it pertains to the current buyer’s and seller’s market, housing availability, and your own personal schedule. Additionally, we help answer three of the most frequently asked moving questions to help you further navigate your move.

Best Time of Year: Buyer’s and Seller’s Market

Before assessing anything else, an important factor determining the best time of year to buy a house involves the current buyer’s market of your desired neighborhood. Are home listings valued higher than six months ago? Would you profit from selling your current home?

Additionally, the ideal time to buy a house is contingent upon your home residing in an area with a high seller’s market and your desired home being in a neighborhood with a greater buyer’s market. If a buyer has a lot of homes to choose from in the area that he wants to be in, then it’s a buyer’s market.

However, if fewer homes are for sale in that desirable area, then you know it is a seller’s market. Either with your realtor or on your own, research both the current buyer’s market of your desired neighborhood and the current neighborhood you want to move away from.

Best Time of Year: Housing Availability

Discovering if you are currently in a buyer’s or seller’s market is a great way to understand your current housing availability. However, exploring how to expand your current housing availability is worth your time as well. Consider the items you need in your next home and separate these from unnecessary wants.

Do you truly need that fourth bedroom? Is a bay window all that necessary? What other neighborhoods reside in your school district? Answering thoughtful questions helps you determine how many home variants you will consider.

For example, in the event the housing availability for a home with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a large master bathroom with double sinks is slim, consider what can change. Do you need that second sink? Could you afford to add another bedroom to find a house in the perfect neighborhood? Finding flexibility in your dream home “wish list” helps increase the housing availability for you and your family.

Best Time of Year: Personal Schedule and Financial Wherewithal

Planning the perfect move depends entirely on your current, personal schedule. If you consider this time in your life too hectic, then perhaps this may not be the best time of year for you to buy a house. However, after assessing your personal schedule and financial wherewithal, you may find that now is the best time.

Whether you are a current renter and wish to move at the end of your lease, or your current home is too far away from your work or children’s school, reflect on your reasons behind moving now as opposed to a more feasible time.

Are you prepared to save up for the costs associated with buying a house? Total all moving expenses such as inspection fees, appraisals, closing costs, and down payments to estimate the amount you need. If you have the funds and the time, you can confidently continue in the moving process.

Commonly Asked Moving Questions Answered

If this is the best time of year to buy a house, then start packing now! Is this your first major move? Are you looking for any moving hacks that can make this whole ordeal less stressful? We are here to help! Below, we help answer how to move a lot of hanging clothes, everything in your kitchen, and priceless antiques.

How to Move A Lot of Hanging Clothes

For those with large wardrobes, packing your clothes for a move can often feel like an arduous task. However, with efficient planning, packing and moving your clothes can be the easiest job on your packing list. The best thing to do is first declutter your closet. Removing anything that is unnecessary for your daily wardrobe helps reduce the amount of clothes you pack.

Once you declutter your wardrobe, begin efficiently sorting out your items. What can be folded and what can remain on a hanger? What needs to be in a wardrobe box and how much can you fit in a suitcase?

Taking advantage of your current wardrobe furniture and luggage can help eliminate the need for countless cardboard boxes or storage bins that can quickly take up space in the back of a car or moving truck. Utilize vacuum seals, dresser drawers, and suitcases to their full potential!

How to Move Everything in Your Kitchen

Most kitchens contain many fragile components. Are you afraid that your wedding day champagne glasses might shatter during a move? Does the thought of breaking your cat mug cause unnerving anxiety? Packing your dishes the right way helps preserve every element in your kitchen.

Effectively packing and moving your kitchen ultimately stems from organization. To ensure the safe transit of your dishes and other kitchen gadgets, pack each item according to its category.

For example, with champagne flutes, wine glasses, and pint glasses, organize them together and simply utilize dish pack boxes. When packing, snugly wrap each item in one or two layers of bubble wrap and proceed to pack into dish packing boxes. The extra protective layers help keep your glasses in one piece while moving. In the event of breakage, however, this step prevents innumerable shattered glass pieces from filling your box.

How to Move Antiques

Out of all the boxes you find yourself building and packing, how many of them have “FRAGILE!” or “HANDLE WITH CARE” written across the top and sides? When the time comes to pack and move your antiques, you may feel the additional pressure to ensure its safe transit as you handle older, more expensive, and incredibly fragile items. Often bulky and heavy, antique furniture, artwork, and mirrors require the most visible form of protection and care.

Furniture

When packing larger historic and valuable items that are difficult to move, you must be exquisitely careful in their handling. Be sure that any upholstery on the furniture is entirely covered with moving blankets and mats, secured in place by a layer of cardboard, and wrapped in plastic wrap to avoid puncturing while in transit.

Artwork and Mirrors

To prevent any damage to your artwork, pack each item separately, especially if the paintings are oil based, so the paint does not transfer or leave residue. Similarly, mirrors need to be packed separately. To prevent damage, begin by securing the glass with blue painter’s tape and create a grid of vertical and horizontal strips. Then, cushion the front and back of the mirror by using bubble wrap or moving blankets, securing those layers with packing tape.

Now Is the Best Time to Let the Professionals Move You Out!

Sometimes, balancing work, family, and other life responsibilities can feel like too much. If you decided now is the best time to move, but packing could not have come at a worse time, we are here to help! At Alliance Moving and Storage, we are devoted to helping you through any part of the moving process. From offering packing and disassembly services to transport, storage, and unpacking, our professionals are ready to help. Are you ready to pass packing and moving along to us? Contact our team today to receive a free quote for our services!