You want to buy a home, but you aren't sure when is the best time to make a life-changing purchase? When is the best time? Does it even exist? Here are some factors that can help you decide when is the right time to buy.

FINANCES

• You have a down payment: If you need a mortgage to buy a home, you should know that most lenders will want you to have a sizable down payment. For most conventional loans, you’ll need 20% of a home’s price. Generating that amount of cash can be challenging, but some lenders can require as little as 5% down. You also may want to check into down payment assistance programs; many homeowners are surprised to find that they qualify.
• You can afford a monthly mortgage: How much you can afford in monthly mortgage hinges on your income and debts. Higher-income is good, of course; higher debt is bad. Check out a mortgage calculator for an easy way to plug in your salary and debts to see how much home you can afford in your area.
• You have a good credit score: Your credit score is a measure of how well you’ve paid off past debts. Lenders look at this number to determine how well you’ll pay them back, too. If you have no credit history, you should get some fast (lenders will want to see at least a year of payments under your belt). If your credit score is poor, you may want to do what you can to increase it, because a higher credit score means you’ll stand to land a better loan.

MARKET CONDITIONS

• Inventory: Look through listings for your area. If the majority of houses have been sitting on the market for more than six months, then the market is slow and prices should be OK. But if many properties get snapped up in months, or even weeks, this suggests you’re in a seller’s market—and that’s where buyer bidding wars could drive up prices. Of course, they could just continue to climb, or they may have peaked and gone down. Local REALTORS® can give you the lay of the land and their predictions.
• Interest rates: Interest rates on home loans also fluctuate depending on market conditions. Currently, interest rates are fairly low but have been inching up fast, which has many thinking of buying a home before they rise even higher. Make sure to check out interest rates in your area.
• Renting vs. buying: A final factor to consider is whether it’s cheaper to own or rent, based on the market conditions in your area. 

TIME OF YEAR

Conventional wisdom says to buy during the peak seasons of spring and summer, when there may be more options. But that also translates into more competition and potentially higher prices. That’s why you shouldn’t neglect fall and winter for home shopping, especially if the other conditions above line up.

Source: Realtor.Com