As restrictions in Ontario start to loosen in some sectors of the economy lots of people are wondering what effect this will have on the real estate market.
A good place to start is to review the statists from April (the latest data available).
Some of the takeaways:
- Sales are down 63.4 per cent over April 2019 and 56 per cent over last month.
- The average price for residential properties was $614,412, which is up 4.3 per cent from April last year, but down 6.6 per cent from last month.
This should not come as a surprise as the Province of Ontario and the Realtors Associations have been working hard to help contain the spread of Covid-19
At the start of April – what this looked like was that those of us Realtors working – were working as remotely as possible. Showings were only happening for those buyers that NEEDED to buy something and fewer and fewer listings were hitting the MLS.
However as April was ending and through the start of May I have noticed more and more phone calls and more and more activity. I have listings myself and have seen others come on the market and sell with multiple offers for very high numbers. Life does go on in some respects – people get married, people get divorced, jobs change, families downsize, upsize and right size – real estate does need to change hands.
What does this look like? Where are we going from here? In terms of further forecasting there is not a one size fits all answer. There are many unique circumstances and each have to be treated their own way. I am here to help.
Keep in mind even in a more traditional, non-pandemic market, we as Realtors have never had the ability to guarantee any of our market predictions. They are educated best guesses.
One thing that remains constant is that I will always give you the best advice for your specific situation. And it will be fluid, it will be dynamic as it always is. It will be tailored to your criteria and timeline and will be educated and informed with the latest data we have available. This will be updated as we move forward along through the process. Just like it always should be.
More time and resources than ever before are going into photography and virtual tours. With incredible innovation and advancement in technology you can get a good feeling for a house from the comfort of your living room. However I believe there is no substitute for viewing a home in person. Proper precautions are being taken and public health guidelines are being followed and properties continue to be viewed.
BUYERS:
- You are not alone or crazy to think about buying now – there are still other buyers out there
- Lets start with a conversation – what are you looking for? Let us see if there is an opportunity for you now or in the near future.
- After we have exhausted all the virtual resources and confirmed you like a house – I am still showing properties (following all pre-cautions)
- This may be a great opportunity to buy for you – Not necessarily that homes will be cheaper, but there may be less competition out there (less of a buying pool)
SELLERS:
- I can provide “no-contact” opinion of values utilizing technology and keeping us both safe
- if priced and marketed well – things are still selling for top dollar (of above!)
- I have tremendous technology at my disposal and will use it to its full potential to maximize the exposure of your listing.
- There are still qualified buyers out there right now. Buyers who are giving solid offers and prices Sellers are VERY happy with
- Could your buyer out there right now? Are they at home thinking about making a change?
- Could now be a good time to expose your home to the market?
The answer to these questions and more will be specific to your situation. I have the time and I love to chat real estate, so reach out anytime.
