Renting a house or an apartment calls for much thought. Knowing which time of year to start looking for a rental will help you get a better price, even if signing a lease involves a range of personal considerations from the regularity of your income flow to the urgency of relocation. Usually, the real estate market is seasonal and cyclical. Paying close attention to these cycles could help you find your ideal house at a price you can afford.
If you want the most variety of options, schedule to travel between May and September. Plan to move between October and April for the greatest rates. Here’s why, along with some additional pointers on scheduling your Rice Village apartments house hunting.The market for real estate usually exhibits seasonal and cyclical trends. By focusing on these cycles, you might influence the rental price you pay.
Given the significant turnover in May and September, apartment inventory is larger in between those months. Summer brings often increased rental costs as well.Winter, October through April, has the lowest rental rates; demand and prices hit their lowest between January and March.An apartment hunt should start in the middle of the month before the intended move month.
Between May and September usually is the busiest moving period. This has really simple underlying causes: Many life changes often start in these months. Many recent high school grads are heading for employment or college from home. Many recent graduates of colleges are looking for real estate near their intended employment. Of course, it’s between school years for families with children as well.
In warmer weather, moving is also simpler; you may drive, load, and unload furniture, and carry boxes.These changes in lifestyle and the status of the weather imply a far larger real estate turnover frequency. Finding an apartment is therefore simpler and, in the summer, there is more range of options from which to pick. But exactly since the summer brings the most rental activity, the demand for rental space is also rather strong. Sometimes treble what could be obtained during the off-peak seasons, this increases rental costs and rent prices.
Hunting can also be a more demanding period since you could run against more competitors in your search for the ideal location.If they find a place they want, would-be tenants frequently have to be ready to act fast—sometimes even signing on the spot.
Prices also fall with decreasing temperature. Usually seen between October and April, especially just following the December holiday season, are the lowest rental rates. Less people are interested in relocation; the terrible weather, schools in session, etc. This is therefore usually when you will find the best rental deals. Low levels of moving activity and turnover usually mean, however, that it is more difficult to locate exactly the kind of property you would want at this moment.
How Early Should One Search Apartment Hunt
Once you have decided on a target moving season, reduce the options to one particular month. Assume for the moment you want to move in August. The best time to start looking for a suitable apartment is at the end of the month before the intended move month; so, in this case, start the apartment search two weeks last week of July.
Although this strategy seems last-minute, it is best as most renters have leases that run until the end of a month or the first few days of the next month. If you start your apartment search within the 30-day notice that renters who are about to depart will have given or will be giving, you will likely get the first option of available space.
Those who are ready to gamble or who have the freedom to relocate on short notice could approach apartment hunting differently. Waiting until the second week of the move-in month can pay off since landlords anxious to fill vacancies get more ready to find new tenants.
Discrimination during the rental process is against the law. Based on your race, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, disability, or age, if you believe you have been discriminated against in the course of your search, there are actions you can take.
The Conclusion Line
For your searches, aim for May through September if you’re worried about having the most options. Should your main concern be the best pricing, you should schedule your relocation from October through April.
