Shifting Market | What You Need to Know
You might be confused about the real estate market right now. It’s been a bit topsy-turvey lately.
Even experienced Realtors are challenged. While striving to give our clients the right advice. We too are juggling a lot of trends and influences.
People ask us everyday to pull out the crystal ball and predict the future. That might be tough. Beware of anyone who insists they know the answer.
Let’s try to get some clarity.
For the past two years or more it’s clearly been a Seller’s market. Multiple offers. Sale prices are well over asking. Bully offers. Houses sold in less than a week. Sometimes overnight!
We have seen one of the most active and rising real estate markets in decades. Average sale prices have climbed 40-45% in the past 2 years. In some home categories values have doubled in the same period.
We saw the early tremors of this a year before Covid hit. Not everything is Covid’s fault. The pandemic may have accelerated and enhanced some trends that were already in motion. If we’ve heard it once….
It can’t last! It’s not sustainable!
Where are all these people coming from?
Interest rate hikes? Global events? Inflation?
Are we headed for or maybe already in a correction or a bursting bubble?
Some say yes. Some are always saying yes to the doom angle. For most of my 30 year career various “experts” have been saying that the Toronto real estate market had to crash
Never happened. At least not down for long.
The worst thing you can do is panic in the short term. Media is the master of creating panic. Sensationalizing every little blip or data morsel. Warren Buffet says “Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”
Or something along those lines. Some like our own Phil Soper, CEO of Royal Lepage Canada see it a bit differently. Phil just upped his prediction for average home prices in 2022.
“The first quarter of the year was so strong, however, that we are bumping up our 2022 outlook. And, home prices will continue to climb in the months ahead as a result of our relentless low supply-high demand imbalance.”
Remember that line-”relentless low supply-high demand”. Well come back to that one.
Have there been some changes we’ve noticed in the past 3-4 weeks? You bet.
Fewer showings. Fewer offers. Fewer Toronto buyers. Hold back the panic though!! Prices are holding and even climbing. Just like Phil Soper said. Here’s where some perspective could help.
2-3 years ago our average DOM (Days on Market) was 30-45 days. During the market ramp-up before and during Covid the market tightened to average DOM of 1-2 weeks. You get used to that. Realtors and consumers alike get used to signs going up and flipping to sold before our eyes.
We got used to low inventory and high demand. A very buzzy market. Some homes attracted a flood of showings and 30+ offers. Tons of GTA buyers. Toronto agents driving their clients 2 hours to show one house before it sold. It’s been quite a ride. Now it feels a bit like the brakes are on. Or did the market just give the brakes a wee tap?
We are navigating these influences and opinions to guide and protect our clients. Our team continues to stay informed and updated on the trends in our market. Let’s take a breath. Have a beat. Gain some perspective.
We still see multiple offers, over asking price sales, and stiff Buyer competition. The change is that it’s not happening on every property. Some listings are taking a few weeks to sell.
With each Seller client, we have to do a deep dive into their segment of the market. Location, style, condition and are used to point to the right pricing strategy.
Popular areas or styles like Old East Hill or acreage/waterfront can still benefit from the "price low" strategy. More common homes or areas where inventory has increased slightly may need to be priced at the Seller's expectations. This can change quickly when that tenuous inventory disappears in a day or two. Typically when that happens several motivated buyers lose out. Either in competition or because they waited.
It's still a tough call to make but our team has the knowledge and experience to help you choose the right strategy.
We monitor the situation by the minute and have the knowledge and experience to guide you to success. Not a crystal ball but real time data.
It’s still a Seller’s market, there are a few new nuances in the market and we are rolling with them.
At the Rufo Real Estate Team we’ve done our homework and created TWO very powerful tools for addressing your questions.
1) Our comprehensive “Home Equity Report”
2) Our monthly “Key Evaluation Update”
Our Home Equity Report is a comprehensive look at your property’s value as of today. Critical information for making your decision.
Our automated Value Updater is tied to the Canadian Home Price Index and we will send you a private link to your report monthly so you can follow how the market is affecting your home’s value. This report will be helpful if you decide to postpone selling your home.