A big part of my job as a Toronto real estate agent is to intensely watch the market as it happens. Knowing what’s happening and how things are changing on a daily basis helps me spot opportunities and risks for Buyers and Sellers.
Every year, I give my clients (and blog readers) the same advice: If you’re going to list your house for sale, do it in February or March when listings are at their lowest. With less competition, anxious Buyers drive up prices through bidding wars. I also tell my panicked Buyers to relax, wait out the cold months and that they can save themselves a lot of time and aggravation if they wait a few months.
Dare I say…I told you so?
In the last 2 days, 59 houses have come on the market. That’s nearly as many as last week (66).
Here’s a breakdown of weekly new house listings in the High Park to Beaches core Toronto zone:
So what does this mean for Buyers?
Well a more balanced market means that there will be more houses for you to look at. When you check your e-mail in the morning, you’ll actually have new listings waiting for you (and some of them will actually be good). The bidding wars should start to be less fierce. It doesn’t mean that prices will be lower than last month, but it does mean you stand a chance of actually getting the house you want.
What does this mean for Sellers?
Don’t worry, it’ not too late to sell your house. There’s a lot of pent-up demand and eager Toronto Buyers out there.
It does mean however, that you shouldn’t play foolish games with your asking price. Setting a price significantly below what your house is worth and what you’re prepared to accept in the hopes of getting multiple offers is a dangerous game that just got more dangerous. In the last week, I know of at least 2 houses that received more than 6 offers and didn’t accept any of them because the Sellers wanted more money. That’s not cool and that strategy will backfire on you. You may still get multiple offers in the coming weeks and months, but you won’t likely see 10 or 15 (or 32) offers on your house anymore. It doesn’t mean that your house is worth less than it was a few months ago, but the way you go about selling it needs to change.
Warmer temperatures, a more balanced market and soon….patio season. Bring it on!
