Holiday Season Presents Local Real Estate Bargains

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)- The Thanksgiving holiday typically signals a slowdown in the New York suburban real estate market. As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reports, the holiday season may be the best time to buy a home for local bargain hunters.

Joseph Viganola, a renter in Weehawken, New Jersey, has been searching for a house with his wife for months.

"Nobody wants to buy a house during the holidays," said Viganola. "They already got kids settled up in school so it's a lot harder to move your house during this time of year."

"We were looking over the summer time but really said over the winter time you get a better deal," he added.

According to the Mortgage Brokers Association, mortgage applications dropped fifty percent during the holiday season last year. The decrease in applications led to a decrease in bidding wars across the market.

"You get a better chance of getting something at a bargain price than you would the rest of the year," said Ralph DiBugnara, Vice President of Residential Home Funding.

Houses on the market too long also run the risk of going stale, according to Paramus Real Estate Associate Warren Johnson.

"If they haven't sold it in the summer there's a good likelihood they'll reduce the price and you'll get a bargain this time of year," said Johnson.

Viganola is hoping for just that.

"It's a better time to go in with a lower offering price," he said. "People are more willing to negotiate because there's less offers on the table."

Home sales dropped so much during the holidays, experts say you can often get a mortgage approved much faster than normal because the mortgage processors aren't as busy.