{"id":22431,"date":"2025-02-20T02:00:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T10:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=22431"},"modified":"2025-02-20T21:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T05:20:23","slug":"buyer-money-saving-tips-for-buying-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-money-saving-tips-for-buying-a-house\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Essential Money-Saving Tips to Help You Buy a House for Less"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For many American workers, it\u2019s only getting harder to pay for a home. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jchs.harvard.edu\/state-nations-housing-2024\">report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University<\/a>, millions of potential homebuyers have been priced out of the market due to high interest rates and elevated home prices. Cities in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/06\/20\/nx-s1-5005972\/home-prices-wages-paychecks-rent-housing-harvard-report\">California and Hawaii<\/a> are revealed to be the least affordable cities in relation to income, showing a price-to-income ratio of 8 or higher.<\/p>\n<p>Even when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freddiemac.com\/pmms\/\">mortgage rates are low<\/a>, this massive discrepancy can put the possibility of homeownership out of reach despite someone\u2019s diligent efforts to save up. And it\u2019s not like you can find a \u201c20% off the house of your choosing\u201d coupon in the weekly Pennysaver. However, there are ways to make buying a house more affordable even as property values skyrocket. To help you recognize the best savings opportunities throughout the home-buying process, we put together these essential money-saving tips for buying a house.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">Who You Work With Matters<\/h3>\n                        <p>House hunting can be alternately fun and exhausting and come with a million questions. Having a great agent in your corner can help you get into your dream home.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-agent\/quiz\/buyer?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Find Agent<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <div id=\"section--1\" data-toc-header=\"1. Partner with a real estate agent who\u2019s a top negotiator.\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div><\/p>\n<h2>1. Partner with a real estate agent who\u2019s a top negotiator.<\/h2>\n<p>When you need help deciding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-reasonable-to-offer-below-asking-price\/\">what\u2019s appropriate to offer on a home<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-get-a-great-deal-on-a-house\/\">how to get a better deal<\/a>, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-real-estate-agents\">agent who\u2019s a top-tier negotiator<\/a> is going to be your best friend. Tenacious buyer\u2019s agents are committed to saving their clients money and will be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Help you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-will-inflation-affect-the-housing-market\/\">get a grip on the housing market<\/a> by identifying which properties are underpriced or overvalued.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Flag you when homes they believe are a great value are coming on the market.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Negotiate the seller down to a lower contract price when possible.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Protect you from overpaying by writing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-long-can-a-house-be-contingent\/\">contingencies<\/a> for the inspection and appraisal.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Request credits and concessions to cover needed repairs based on the inspection findings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>HomeLight can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-real-estate-agents\/buying\">recommend you to a buyer\u2019s agent<\/a> known for helping their clients save on their purchase. To find these agents, we review their sale-to-list ratio for their buy-side transactions. Sale-to-list ratio represents the percentage of a list price that an agent\u2019s clients end up paying for a home on average.<\/p>\n<p>For example, an agent with a 95% sale-to-list for buy-side transactions knocks 5% off the list price for their buyer clients on average. (Five percent on a $250,000 home amounts to a savings of $12,500 on the purchase price).<\/p>\n<div id=\"section--2\" data-toc-header=\"2. Time your purchase based on market cycles.\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>\n<h2>2. Time your purchase based on market cycles<\/h2>\n<p>Real estate prices fluctuate throughout the year. To maximize savings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Buy in winter: <\/strong>Fewer buyers mean lower prices and more negotiating power.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Avoid peak seasons:<\/strong> Spring and summer tend to have higher competition and prices.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Track interest rate trends: <\/strong>Buying when rates are lower saves on long-term costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you hope to score a great deal on a house, you want to avoid jumping into the real estate market during peak house-hunting season. When demand exceeds supply in a market, prices will rise and make it difficult to negotiate much (if anything) off the list price. And increased competition from other buyers makes it more likely that you\u2019ll end up in a bidding war.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/best-time-to-sell-a-house\/\">best time to <em>sell<\/em> a home<\/a> tends to be around the first two weeks of May. On the other hand, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/real-estate\/best-time-to-sell-house\/\">worst time to sell<\/a> nationally comes in January and February. However, these trends vary from market to market.<\/p>\n<p>Find the \u201coffseason\u201d in your market using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\">HomeLight\u2019s Best Time to Sell Calculator<\/a>, which uses actual transaction data to identify when sale prices peak and dip. Below, we\u2019ve pulled some results for example cities so you can see the estimated savings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/los-angeles-ca\">Los Angeles<\/a>: save an estimated 3.47% by buying in January, and avoid shopping in August<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/boston-ma\">Boston<\/a>: save an estimated 3.6% by buying in February, and avoid shopping in March<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/chicago-il\">Chicago<\/a>: save an estimated 7.64% by buying in January, and avoid shopping in March<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/houston-tx\">Houston<\/a>: save an estimated 6.52% by buying in January, and avoid shopping in September<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/seattle-wa\">Seattle<\/a>: save an estimated 8.89% by buying in January, and avoid shopping in April<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To find out the best time to buy in your area, input your city into our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\/\">Best Time to Sell Calculator<\/a>. Look at the \u201cWorst Month to Sell\u201d in the top chart based on when sales prices tend to drop. Since our estimates are based on home closings rather than list dates, be sure to go back two to three months to determine which month you should go under contract for the best shot at a deal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"section--3\" data-toc-header=\"3. Improve your credit score.\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>\n<h2>3. Improve your credit score.<\/h2>\n<p>Having great credit can help you save on your home purchase. Why? Because the higher your score, the better deal you can get on your mortgage. Lenders will look at that important three-digit number as a measure of how well you\u2019ve managed and paid off debt in the past, and how likely you are to pay back this loan on time.<\/p>\n<p>If you apply for a mortgage with a lower score, you\u2019ll likely pay a higher rate to account for any perceived risk your lender takes on by giving you a mortgage. On the flip side, lenders are typically willing to offer better rates to borrowers with a strong credit history.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, the lowest mortgage rates are granted to those with scores of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-build-credit-fast\/\">750 or higher<\/a>, and even a fraction of a percent shaved off your mortgage rate can result in significant savings over the life of your loan.<\/p>\n<p>Below, we\u2019ve pulled data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfico.com\/credit-education\/calculators\/loan-savings-calculator\/\">MyFico\u2019s Loan Savings Calculator<\/a> to show you an estimate of how much mortgage rates rise as your credit score goes down based on a 30-year fixed mortgage and current interest rates* applied to the purchase of a home for the <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/MSPUS\">national median sale price<\/a> and with 20% down payment:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>FICO Score<\/td>\n<td>APR<\/td>\n<td>Monthly Payment<\/td>\n<td>Total Interest Paid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>760-850<\/td>\n<td>7.112%<\/td>\n<td>$2,256<\/td>\n<td>$476,959<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>700-759<\/td>\n<td>7.347%<\/td>\n<td>$2,310<\/td>\n<td>$496,187<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>680-699<\/td>\n<td>7.463%<\/td>\n<td>$2,336<\/td>\n<td>$505,742<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>660-679<\/td>\n<td>7.509%<\/td>\n<td>$2,347<\/td>\n<td>$509,543<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>640-659<\/td>\n<td>7.644%<\/td>\n<td>$2,378<\/td>\n<td>$520,735<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>620-639<\/td>\n<td>7.78%<\/td>\n<td>$2,410<\/td>\n<td>$532,066<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>Numbers courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfico.com\/credit-education\/calculators\/loan-savings-calculator\/\">MyFICO loan savings calculator<\/a> (Interest rates as of 2\/19\/2025)*<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reduce costs associated with your mortgage and get a good deal with these essential money-saving tips for buying a house in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":54497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,620,624],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-buy-house","category-saving-up"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>13 Money-Saving Tips to Help You Buy a House for Less<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reduce costs associated with your mortgage and get a good deal with these essential money-saving tips for buying a house in 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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